'Any deal in any industry around the world that has been put up in the last three or four months has certainly hit some speed bumps' said Chateau Montelena managing director Greg Ralston who did not disclose the reasons for the failure of the deal, nor would he further elaborate on the reasons for the deal's collapse.
News of the deal, reportedly worth US$110m has been making rounds since June, but Montelena has now terminated the sale agreement, saying purchaser had been unable to meet its financial obligations, according to a report by Decanter.
The prospective buyer was Reyber Investments, owned by Michel Reybier who is the owner of Cos d'Estournel.
Ralston said Montelena was no longer for sale, and he expected the property to stay in the ownership of the Barrett family for the foreseeable future. 'They didn't have to sell – that was just the option they chose at the time,' he said.
Bo Barrett, son of Jim Barrett, who revived Montelena's fortunes in the 1970s, talks about the collapse of the deal. He says that the sale was prompted by his parents' age and as he could not afford to buy out the shares of his brothers and sisters' in the business.
Chateau Montelena was founded in 1882. It made its name when it won the white wine section of the 'Judgment of Paris' wine competition in 1976 conducted by Steven Spurrier, between California and French wines. Its Chateau Montelena '73 Chardonnay was selected as the top white wine – ahead of the great Burgundy whites: Meursault-Charmes (Roulot) 1973; Beaune Clos des Mouches 1973 (Joseph Drouhin), Batard-Montrachet1973 (Ramonet-Prudhon), and Puligny- Montrachet "Les Pucelles,"1972 (Dom. Leflaive).
Jean-Guillaume Prats, CEO of Cos d'Estournel, the Second Growth from St. Estephe, that used to be owned by his father Bruno till the nineties has not commented on the development so far. |