Bernard Arnault's Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton group adds a Napa cult Cabernet star to their growing luxury-wine portfolio.
Colgin owners Ann Colgin and her husband, Joe Wender, have agreed to sell 60 percent of their Napa Valley winery to French luxury conglomerate LVMH. The deal includes the brand, the winery and its 26 acres of vineyards. Colgin and Wender will stay on in leadership roles, as will COO Paul Roberts, and winemaker Allison Tauziet will continue to make the wines. The sale price was not disclosed.
"Their ethos of luxury and spirit of entrepreneurship resonated with us," Colgin told Wine Spectator. "Their track record of championing hand-crafted products and showcasing them to the world made us confident that a partnership would preserve the quality of our wines and the spirit of excellence that has inspired us for the past quarter-century."
Founded by Ann and her then-husband, Fred Schrader, in 1992, Colgin has become one of Napa's cult classics, with limited-production Cabernet Sauvignons and a Syrah that command prices exceeding $500 per bottle and sell exclusively to mailing-list members and high-end restaurants and retailers. Its wines regularly earn outstanding to classic ratings from Wine Spectator. Total annual production is approximately 4,000 cases.
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