Bordeaux Vintners Increasingly Interested in Napa Valley Estates

March 24, 2016 – The sale of the late Robin Williams’s 640-acre Villa Sorriso, purchased recently by Alfred Tesseron, the owner of Château Pontet-Carnet in Bordeaux, was another indication of the interest of vintners from Bordeaux in the Napa Valley.  Originally on the market in 2012 for $35 million, Tesseron paid $18.1 million.

Villa Sorriso or “Villa of Smiles” is located high on Mt. Veeder, a part of the Mayacamas Mountains that divide the Napa Valley from Sonoma.  It is in the southwest corner of the Napa Valley and is quite isolated which, according to realtors, made it hard to sell.  The beautiful 20,000 square foot mansion was just too far from the restaurants of Yountville and St. Helena, which dampened the interest of many buyers looking for locations nearer these amenities.

Tesseron has been looking for property in Napa for quite some time.  Elin McCoy writing for Bloomberg News said that the Tesseron purchase was just the latest by Bordeaux vintners.  The owners of Chanel bought St. Supery estate last October.  The billionaire brothers behind Chanel, Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, also own Châteaux Rauzan-Segla and Canon in Bordeaux.  Araujo Estate was bought by Francois Pinault, owner of Château Latour in 2013.  According to realtors in the Napa Valley, interest by Bordelais vintners has increased recently and they anticipate more activity in the years to come.

As respected wine writer Elin McCoy points out, Napa and Bordeaux share the same main grapes: cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc plus the French feel comfortable producing wine and doing business in the United States.

For Napa, interest from Bordeaux confirms its fine wine reputation, as well as the global importance of the Napa brand. So Bordeaux’s interest can only be considered very good news.