Q&A With Florent Latour By Ben Giliberti, CW Director of Wine Education T he world of wine was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the premature death of Louis-Fabrice Latour in 2022. Louis-Fabrice was the 11th generation of his family to lead the family company, founded in 1797. His brother, Florent Latour, was appointed to take the reins. I recently chatted with Florent to get his thoughts about the current Burgundy scene and hear his plans to lead the Maison into a new era.
16 — CALVERT WOODLEY 2024 FALL SALE A: You are right. It is true that we are regarded as one of the largest négociant in Burgundy, and we are. Still, it is also vital to remind our customers and the sommelier A: I could not move my family too quickly, but we shall see what happens when my children complete their studies. In the meantime, it is important for me to be at our Domaine and spend time at our other vineyards throughout Burgundy, so I split my time between DC and France. Q: Louis Latour is often referred to as a négociant, which strikes me as somewhat misleading, given that you are also one of the largest landowners in the Côte d’Or, with many exclusive domaine bottlings in Grand Cru terroirs. Can you explain the difference between the Maison’s business as a négociant and that of an estate bottler, and how the two pieces work together? Q: Although you grew up in Beaune surrounded by vineyards, you also hold an MBA from Harvard and have recently worked in the technology industry in France and the United States. Given all the increased economic challenges in the world of wine today, I would imagine that such a background would be of great value to steer Maison Louis Latour in the new era. Is that the case? A: It’s an incredible privilege to be a part of the wine industry — it’s equal parts art and science and has centuries of storied heritage built into it, particularly at Maison Louis Latour, where we’ve remained proudly independent and family-owned for 12 generations. But at the end of the day, it’s still a business. We make a product and need to ensure we meet and grow demand for Maison Louis Latour wines just like you would any other product. With my background in technology, I bring that perspective to the business in thinking about how we can use technology to move the business forward from an operations standpoint, as well as in the way we connect with our customers. I am also trying to use some of the management techniques I learned in America in Burgundy! Q: Following up on the above, we’ve certainly enjoyed having you live in our backyard in Washington, DC, in recent years. Do you expect to be moving back to France in your new position?
community that Louis Latour is also the largest landowner of 1er Cru and Grand Crus. Our ancestors had the opportunity to buy incredible parcels and vineyards, starting 150+ years back with our first acquisition of Corton Grand Cru Le Clos de La Vigne au Saint. After that, they kept acquiring significant parcels, from Chambertin to Romanée-Saint-Vivant. Of course, it is key to remember that we are the largest landowner of Corton-Charlemagne with a little more than 10 HA (25 acres) of vines. It is a dance to manage the two sides of the business since they can be quite different. The négociant business is crucial to the overall health and reputation of the brand as it allows us to be flexible with the diversity of our offerings. Still, we remain vigilant and ensure the quality of the fruit purchased is impeccable. A few years back, we decided to get more involved with our grower partners to the point that we help them manage their parcels entirely or co-manage these together. We have a team dedicated to helping many of our growers and partners all year, and that shows you the commitment and investment we have made in our négociant business. Q: At the risk of flattering ourselves, is the U.S. your most important market other than France? A: Yes, the U.S. is a significant priority for us. There is already a strong demand for Burgundy wines here. Still, we see an opportunity to educate more U.S. wine consumers about the specialness of the region and the accessibility of wines from Burgundy. There is a perception that great French wine must be expensive, but that’s not true. At Maison Louis Latour, we’re in a great position to offer high-quality wines in quantities that meet U.S. demand at various price points. The U.S. market represents 20 to 25% of our total business, and we have built a dedicated team that is U.S.-based and whose role is to educate and support our distributor partners. The U.S. was Louis-Fabrice’s favorite market, and we want to ensure it stays that way. My brother’s daughter, Eleonore, joined the business last year and is already spending a good amount of time in the U.S. to understand its dynamics. She is loving it, and you will see more of her in the next few years.
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