Q: Given the extraordinary quality of recent Burgundy vintages over the last 30 years, which have coincided with increasingly warmer summers, would you say that Burgundy is a winner from climate change? Given Pinot Noir’s reputation as a notoriously fussy grape variety, does that surprise you? A: No region is resistant to the effects of climate change. We are constantly managing quality no matter the weather. Some years we postpone the harvest and others we trim the leaves on the vines to ensure the grapes have more opportunity to ripen in direct sunlight. However, we also have to examine winemaking practices across the region. In Burgundy, we’ve worked diligently to protect the land we work on and have
long been a leader in sustainable agriculture. For example, we use no pesticides in our growing practices. We also use a mix of modern and legacy methods for soil cultivation — including horse-drawn ploughs and electric vine-straddle robots, which are lighter and low-impact on the soil. It’s no accident that Burgundy wines have flourished — it’s been an ongoing and unified effort to protect the terroir. Q: Have you considered investing in Oregon as Joseph Drouhin and Louis Jadot have? A: It is something that we might consider in the future, but we are very busy here at home with many new projects. We are revamping our Beaujolais property as we speak, and we will relaunch that brand next year with a new winemaking team, labels, and so forth. We are also looking at new opportunities to expand our négociant business in the Côte de Nuits. Q: I n recent years (at least by Burgundy standards), you have opened exciting new projects outside the Côte d’Or in the Ardèche and Pierres Dorées region. How important are these to the future growth of the Maison? A: These are key to the well-being of the overall brand, as we always looked outside of Burgundy for great opportunities to bring our Burgundian know-how to other regions. We have been making wines in the Ardèche since 1979, when my father brought us there to make affordable Chardonnay that we could bring to every table in France and abroad. Today, The Ardèche brand is featured all over France in every bistro, and it has become a huge success story. 45 years later, it is doing very well in the U.S. and other markets as it provides a great alternative by the glass to California Chardonnay. We have done the same with the Domaine de Valmoissine in the Var in the ‘90s. My dad and Louis-Fabrice went there and fell in love with the region and the terroir and felt that we
could make great Pinot Noir at a reasonable price, and so we did. Today, Valmoissine Pinot is one of the best offerings by the glass from France at $15 a glass and is growing very fast in this market. Finally, Les Pierres Dorées is a more recent project at just a few years old. We are 25 miles away from our Beaujolais property in an area that again offers incredible landscape and great terroir for Pinot Noir. We are the pioneers of Pinot in that specific area. We are fine-tuning our wines there, but I can guarantee you that the 2023 vintage will be the best we have made and that we are getting close to what we are looking for. Q: As a tech veteran, do you see a future role for AI in the Burgundy business? A: We are already starting to see the use of AI in wine. At Maison Louis Latour, we use it to help us manage large data sets and complicated weather patterns. We are looking into whether this data could help us make better decisions about the vines and wine itself. Also, similar to what you see in other industries, we are working on a prototype of an AI-powered chatbot to better answer the questions our customers have on our many appellations. Q: Have you discovered any American wines that you particularly enjoy? A: I have had the opportunity to taste and learn about California wines, particularly their Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Paul Hobbs, Peter Michael, Aubert, and Far Niente have been particularly enjoyable to me, and they also purchase barrels from us. We are the only winemaker in Burgundy to operate our own cooperage. We make 3,500 barrels annually — half of which are used by Maison Louis Latour; the rest are allocated to a long wait list of prestigious producers from around the world.
CALVERT WOODLEY 2024 FALL SALE — 17
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