A Visit From Chateau Montelena Winemaker Mike Grgich Makes History
Helen recalls the day that Mike Grgich came to visit her vineyard in August of 1973. At the time, Grgich was head winemaker for Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley , and he was searching for exceptional chardonnay grapes. He walked around and looked at several different blocks, tasting grapes, Helen stated. But when he got to the Paris Block.he said, Boy, these are the most beautiful grapes,…the flavors! There are so many flavors! So Mike purchased the Bacigalupi grapes along with chardonnay from several other Sonoma County vineyards, and Helen completed the five wild drives across the mountains to deliver her grapes to Napa Valley.
From there, the rest is history. Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant, selected the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay as one of a dozen California wines he took to Paris. The wines were part of a blind tasting of French and California wines that Spurrier organized with experienced French judges in 1976. The judges were shocked when they realized they had awarded first prize in the white wine category to the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. Equally astonishing, they awarded first prize in the red category to another California wine, the 1973 Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.
When the news came out, recalls Helen, it was the 4th of July weekend and I was baking a pie to celebrate our nation’s birthday. I got a call from Mike Grgich and he told me the news. I said well isnt that wonderful!
Chateau Montelena: The Unique History Of An American Chateau
On May 24, 1976, Chateau Montelena made history, when it was named best white wine in the world at the Judgement of Paris, defeating even the very best of Burgundy and bringing global acclaim, for the first time, to California in general and Napa Valley in particular. But the story of Montelena begins long before that fateful day. The property, located at the base of Mount Saint Helena, two miles north of Calistoga, was first purchased by Alfred L. Tubbs in 1882. The founder began by planting his vineyards and then constructed his Chateau, which was truly unique at the time in that it was built of stone in the English Gothic style, with thick walls providing insulation against the external temperature. In 1886, Tubbs hired a French winemaker at the chateau.
After a temporary pause in winemaking during Prohibition, Tubbss grandson Chapin Tubbs resumed the harvest. He renamed the winery Chateau Montelena, a contraction of Mount St. Helena nearby. During the 1950s and 1960s, the estate served as a residence for Yort and Jeanie Frank, who emigrated from Hong Kong and were looking for a nice place to retire. The Franks landscaped the property in the style of a Chinese garden and excavated a lake, which is today home to a wide variety of fish and native plant species.
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Why Chateau Montelena 1973 Is A Wine Legend
This was the California Chardonnay wine that dethroned some of the most prestigious white Burgundies at the legendary Judgement of Paris tasting organised by Steven Spurrier in 1976.
It came top out of the 10 French and Californian Chardonnays poured blind at the event. Six of the nine French judges awarded Montelena their highest score.
Montelena 1973 also made from young vines, confounding the French conviction that vines need to be mature to deliver top-class wine.
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Its Not Just White Wine Either
While Chardonnay first brought the spotlight to Chateau Montelena, these days, Cabernet Sauvignon reigns supreme, as it does through most of Napa Valley. The companys Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, from vines situated on gentle slopes composed mostly of alluvial soils, produces wines prized for their balance and elegance.
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Chateau Montelena: An Icon In Napa Valley
Swans gracefully glide by. Ducks splash and play as they swim past the red lacquered pavilion and under the weeping willow trees. Standing on a bridge over the lake, you see vineyards in the distance scaling the side of the mountain. Above, a 100-year old stone winery, modeled after a French chateau, produces some of the finest wines in the area. The atmosphere is serene and joyful at the same time. Where are you?
If youre a wine fanatic, or in the trade, youll know exactly the place Im describing. If not, maybe the movie Bottle Shock was your introduction. Or maybe, like me, you got lucky and someone took you to Chateau Montelena.
The story of Chateau Montelena is just the kind of story that Hollywood loves. In fact, Bottle Shock, released in 2008, tells the story of how the 1973 Chateau Chardonnay won the 1976 Paris tasting, scoring higher than six other California Chardonnays and four distinguished white Burgundies, in a blind tastingin Paris much to the dismay of the French.
In that moment in 1976, the world of wine changed on a global scale. Napa Valley became a world-recognized region for viticulture and all because of the vision of Jim Barrett and winemaker Mike Grgich, who wanted to make wine in the old world style.
Read more about Mike Grgich
Tasting room, Chateau Montelena, Calistoga
Chateau Montelena is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For details visit chateaumontelena.com
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Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973 For Sale
Only one note from the 1976 Judgement tasting survives.
Christian Vannequé, head sommelier at the Tour dArgent in Paris, wrote: A very agreeable wine, which will blossom pleasantly and has a good equilibrium. To be followed.
The owner of the celebrated restaurant would later rebuke Vannequé for having participated.
columnist Michael Broadbent wrote in 1980. It is certainly my idea of a fine California Chardonnay broad, slightly sweet, fully developed positive but not excessive dryish, more body than a Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet, but not heavy. Fine, rich, a touch of meatiness. Very good acidity. Perfect.
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White Wines Of The 1976 Tasting
- Chateau Montelena 1973, Napa Valley/Calistoga
- Meursault-Charmes 1973, Roulot
- Chalone Vineyards 1974, Monterey County/Soledad
- Spring Mountain 1973, Napa Valley/Spring Mountain
- Beaune Clos des Mouches 1973, Joseph Drouhin
- Freemark Abbey 1972, Napa Valley/Rutherford
- Batard-Montrachet 1973, Ramonet-Prudhon
- Puligny-Montrachet 1972, Les Pucelles, Domaine Leflaive
- Veedercrest 1972, Napa Valley/Mt. Veeder
- David Bruce 1973, Santa Cruz Mts.
Chateau Montelena For Sale
Rumors are flying up and down the Napa Valley that Chateau Montelena is for sale.
I cant say anything about it, said Bo Barrett, the winemaker and son of founder and principal winery owner Jim Barrett, when asked today about rumors of its sale.
According to a source familiar with potential deals, the famous Napa winery was recently put on the market and bidders have presented offers in excess of $100 million. The Barrett family, owners of the winery, are interested in selling and are weighing those offers.
Montelena is best known for its estate-grown Cabernets, from the Montelena Estate vineyard at the winery in Calistoga. It is also highly regarded for its Napa Valley Chardonnay, and it produces a second Napa Cabernet, along with Riesling and Zinfandel.
The winery vaulted to international fame with the famous 1976 Paris Tasting, where its 1973 Alexander Valley Chardonnay won a blind tasting, vanquishing competition that included prestigious white Burgundies and other California Chardonnays.
Located north of Calistoga, the winery dates to 1882, when Alfred L. Tubbs, a San Francisco-based entrepreneur, purchased 254 acres of land and built the chateau. It had been abandoned for decades until 1969, when Los Angeles attorney Jim Barrett led a group of investors to purchase it.
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History: Winemaker Mike Grgich And Montelena
Miljenko Mike Grgich was a Croatian who in 1958 emigrated to California. There he worked with many of the existing wineries from the late 1960s, including Souverain, Christian Brothers, Beaulieu and Mondavi. In 1972 he was offered a job at Chateau Montelena, founded in 1882, but owned since 1969 by lawyer Jim Barrett and his partners. Grgichs wines met with an enthusiastic receptionand he remained at Montelena until 1975, when he left after some acrimonious disputes to found his own winery.
Winemaker Matt Crafton Talks
The 1976 Judgement of Paris in which California wines outscored French wines at a blind tasting, judged largely by French judges, put California wine on the global map. The top white wine out of the ten in the tasting was the 1973 Chateau Montelena, out scoring four top Burgundies. With that victory, Chateau Montelena became a global household name.
The winery exists under the same ownership today, although a younger generation has taken the reins. The wine maker since 2014 has been Matt Crafton, a University of California, Davis viticulture and enology graduate who started making wine in his native Virginia before moving to California. I recently had the opportunity to interview him and catch up with what the winery is doing now.
AC: Chateau Montelena is defined by the victory of its Chardonnay at the Judgement of Paris . Obviously, that was made by someone else but I am sure that you have been fortunate enough to taste the wines of that era. How does the Chardonnay that you make today differ from those?
AC: What about Chateau Montelena chardonnay stylistically, relative to other California chardonnays?
Matt Crafton: Our style is not scalable. There is a very small area of Napa Valley that can grow chardonnay with the characteristics we need and that constrains how much we can produce. There is vintage variation of course but an enduring practice is that I pick before letting the grapes get too ripe.
AC: Lets come back to vine stress. How much is needed?
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In The Cellar: How The Wine Was Made
Editing for Decanter.com by Chris Mercer
Chateau Montelena: A Varied Terroir Managed With Care
Chateau Montelena is situated in the Calistoga AVA of Napa Valley. Vineyard Manager Dave Vella credits the quality of the wines to the regions terroir, where soils and climate and slope have come together to create the perfect spot to grow Cabernet Sauvignon. The estates seven vineyard locations have also been managed with sustainable agricultural practices for decades, with very close attention paid to the character and unique needs of each plot.
The Estate Vineyard is Chateau Montelenas largest property, spanning over around 115 acres, of which 83 acres are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 to Zinfandel and Primitivo and the rest to Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Around the estate is also the 28-acre Barberis , the 15-acre Montelena Blossom Creek and 6-acre Montelena Garnet Creek , and the 8-acre plot south of Calistoga also planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to these properties, Chateau Montelena leases a 55-acre plot of mostly Chardonnay vines in the Oak Knoll District at the base of Mt. Veeder, also supervised by Vella but managed by Bill Hanna. Montelena sources its Chardonnay from a neighboring vineyard, owned and managed by Hanna. The winery produces around 1,500 cases of Riesling with fruit purchased from Potter Valley.
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Bacigalupi Paris Tasting Block
The 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting forever changed the way the world viewed California wines. At thislegendary blind tasting, a panel of nine French judges overwhelmingly selected a California Chardonnay wineover their own. The Bacigalupi family continues to farm one of the original vineyards that comprised the 1973Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won this esteemed tasting.
Charles Bacigalupi was a successful dentist in Healdsburg who first heard about Chardonnay during the1960s. He had acquired the 121-acre Goddard Ranch on a bench on Westside Road in 1956. Bob Sisson, theUniversity of California farm adviser for Sonoma County at the time advised Russian River Valley growersincluding Charles to plant Chardonnay. Charles obtained budwood for his Chardonnay plantings from KarlWentes Livermore plantings and planted 6 acres on St. George rootstock just off Westside Road at GoddardRanch in 1964.
The original weight tag from 1973 that is currently displayed in the Bacigalupis tasting room:
The 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that Grgich crafted was included in a 2014 Smithsonian exhibition101 Objects That Made America, along side Abraham Lincolns hat, Alexander Graham Bells Telephone, andNeil Armstrongs space suit.
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The Untold Story Of Helen Bacigalupis Wild Drive Over The Mountain To Deliver Sonoma Chardonnay To Chateau Montelena
Helen Bacigalupi at Age 96, Co-Founder of Bacigalupi Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma County, CA
Bacigalupi Vineyards
There is a well-known story in Sonoma County, California that the majority of the grapes that went into the famous bottle of 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting were from Sonoma County and not Napa Valley. This is a true story, documented by George Taber in his book Judgment of Paris , showing that more than 80% of the grapes were grown in Sonoma County vineyards.
What is less well known is the story of Helen Bacigalupi, who sold 14 tons of her Sonoma chardonnay grapes to winemaker, Mike Grgich, who used them to craft part of the legendary wine. After harvesting the grapes, it took her five trips to drive them over the Mayacamas Mountains from Sonoma to Napa in an old Volkswagen truck. Today, at age 96, Helen Bacigalupi stills spends time in her famous chardonnay vineyard, renamed the Paris Block. And she remembers the events that led up to the day that a California chardonnay beat out wines from Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault Charmes in Burgundy.
Yes, reports Helen, in a recent interview, I drove those grapes over the mountain myself. The VW engine couldn’t really handle the weight of the grapes, so I would get to the bottom of the hill and just gun it and pray to God no one would get in my way before I reached the top! I made about 5 trips like that.
Bacigalupi Vineyards
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Implications In The Wine Industry
Although Spurrier had invited many reporters to the original 1976 tasting, the only reporter to attend was George M. Taber from Time, who promptly revealed the results to the world. The horrified and enraged leaders of the French wine industry then banned Spurrier from the nations prestigious wine-tasting tour for a year, apparently as punishment for the damage his tasting had done to its former image of superiority. The tasting was not covered by the French press, who almost ignored the story. After nearly three months, Le Figaro published an article titled Did the war of the cru take place? describing the results as laughable, and said they cannot be taken seriously. Six months after the tasting, Le Monde wrote a similarly toned article.
Red Wines Of The 1976 Tasting
- Stags Leap Wine Cellars 1973, Napa Valley
- Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970
- Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Mountain Range 1971, Santa Cruz Mts.
- Château Leoville-Las-Cases 1971
- Mayacamas 1971, Napa Valley/Mayacamas Mts.
- Clos Du Val 1972, Napa Valley
- Heitz Cellars Marthas Vineyard 1970, Napa Valley/St. Helena
- Freemark Abbey 1969, Napa Valley/Rutherford
- Puligny-Montrachet 1972, Les Pucelles, Domaine Leflaive
- Veedercrest 1972, Napa Valley/Mt. Veeder
- David Bruce 1973, Santa Cruz Mts.
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Who Purchased Chateau Montelena In 1968
The winery is being recognized for two periods of significance between 1888-1920, when San Francisco entrepreneur Alfred Tubbs built and operated the 18,000-square-foot stone winery and 1968-1976 after Jim Barrett purchased the property, and the winery, along with Warren Winiarskis Stags Leap Wine Cellars.
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Is Chateau Montelena Still Open
Chateau Montelena is located at the top of Napa Valley in Calistoga. Please allow at least 45 minutes from downtown Napa and two hours from San Francisco. The winery is open Thursday through Monday by appointment only 9:30am to 4pm, with the exception of select dates.
Where is the Chateau Montelena located?
Chateau Montelena is located at the top of Napa Valley in Calistoga. Please allow at least 45 minutes from downtown Napa and two hours from San Francisco. The winery is open by appointment only 9:30am to 4pm, with the exception of select dates.
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