Louis Latour Agencies

Maison Louis Latour celebrates their 220th Anniversary

27 October 2017

As Maison Louis Latour celebrates their 220th anniversary since the founding on the company in 1797, we thought we would give you a potted history of the highlights from the historic house.

1731       The Latour family first bought vines in the Cote de Beaune – the cooperage was already in family ownership

1768       Jean Latour moves to Aloxe-Corton, sets up his own cooperage and begins to buy land in Corton with the purchases of Aloxe-Corton Les Chaillots, Corton Grèves and Corton Bressandes.

1797       Creation of Maison Louis Latour

1815       Louis Latour wines are exported to Great Britain for the first time. Louis Latour buys a parcel of Corton at La Vigne au Saint

1830       The construction of the cuverie at Corton Grancey was started by the Marquis of Cordoue. It was completed in 1834 and was the world’s first custom built gravity winery.

1867       Maison Louis Latour becomes a negociant and the office is set up at 18 Rue des Tonneliers, where the offices remain to this day.

1870       Phylloxera arrives from California and starts to damage the vines, this continues for over 60 years.

1891       Maison Louis Latour buys Chateau Corton Grancey, the cuverie and 33 hectares of vines, including 15 hectares of Grand Cru, from the family Grancey in Aloxe-Corton. The Château was built in 1749 by Gabriel Lebault, the grandfather of the Marquis de Cordoue (who later inherited the Château) and the President of the Burgundian Parliament. On his death the Marquis left the property to the Comtes de Grancey who sold it to the third Louis Latour.

1891       After phylloxera destroyed the Aligote vines planted on the hill of Corton, the fifth Louis Latour decides to replant with Chardonnay and creates Corton-Charlemagne. The signature of the fifth Louis Latour remains on the label of Corton-Charlemagne.

1913       Maison Louis Latour, along with another Burgundian House makes a joint acquisition of Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles. The partition of the vineyard was decided by flipping a coin – Maison Louis Latour won the toss and so own the more prestigious half, adjacent to the wall.

1931       Louis-Noel Latour, a young agricultural engineer, is among those who succeed in defeating phylloxera through the grafting of Pinot Noir onto resistant American rootstocks.

1970s     Clos Chameroy is built on the outskirts of Beaune to provide modern winemaking facilities.

1979       Louis-Fabrice’s father, Louis Latour, sets out to find an affordable alternative to Burgundy. He settles on the Ardeche region. Here Chardonnay thrives on the outstanding terroir and Maison Latour use the same winemaking techniques as they do in Burgundy. Maison Latour work closely with around 100 growers with long-term contracts helping them adopt sustainable viticultural and fair working practices. Growers are paid with regard to the quality of the grapes rather than the quantity.

1986       Louis Latour Inc is founded in America as a subsidiary for distribution.

1986       Louis Latour builds a winery in the village of Alba-La Romaine for the Ardeche wines

1989       Following success with Chardonnay, Louis Latour looks to cultivate Pinot Noir in the south of France and starts to create Domaine de Valmoissine. Vines were not planted on this land previously but the soil is similar to that at Corton, and the altitude and cool nights stop the vines from overheating. This domaine is now over 100 hectares of vines.

1990       Louis Latour Limited is founded in London as a subsidiary for distribution.

1997       In their bicentennial year Maison Louis Latour became a member of the Henokiens – a group of family-owned enterprises, all are at least 200 years old and still owned by the founding families.

2003       Maison Louis Latour buys Maison Simonnet-Febvre, an historic house in Chablis and the only house in Chablis to produce the regional sparkling wine, Cremant de Bourgogne.

2006       Louis Latour Limited begins trading as Louis Latour Agencies. This was to acknowledge the breadth of the range and extension of the portfolio.

2008       Maison Louis Latour buys Henry Fessy, a Beaujolais Cru specialist with vineyards in nine out of the 10 crus.

2010       Maison Louis Latour begins to explore Les Pierres Dorées region.

2011       Renovation starts at the Cuverie in Aloxe-Corton that is completed the year afterwards.

2013       Renovation starts at Château Corton Grancey and is completed the following year.

2016       Maison Louis Latour released a completely new wine: Les Pièrres Dorées Pinot Noir 2015. This was an exciting project which has seen Latour recognise the potential for the Pinot Noir vines in a region that has traditionally been planted with Gamay. Located 40 kilometres north-west of Lyon, the vineyards are located on gently sloping hills and benefit from good sun exposure. They are located between 280-380 metres above sea level and benefit from a continental climate which ensures that the grapes ripen slowly and retain good acidity levels. The Pierres Dorées clay and limestone soils are very similar to those found in Burgundy. This very specific terroir allows the Pinot Noir to reveal all its elegance and richness. The vineyards are managed following the sustainable practices adopted in all of Louis Latour’s vineyards.