A 17th century mansion house
Until the end of the 19th century, a Cooper did much more than merely assemble staves to form the Burgundy ‘piece', equivalent to 300 bottles. The Rue des Tonneliers (Coopers Street), which has been the home of Maison Latour for two centuries, is thus named because the Cooper of the Middle Ages was in fact a wine broker, responsible for the sales of wine in barrels, rather than in bottles, to markets in the north, such as Paris, Flanders and Germany.
The building that stands at 18 rue des Tonneliers was constructed in 1641 and belonged to Maison Lamarosse before being acquired by Maison Louis Latour. Lamarosse and Sons was a traditional trading house with whom Louis Latour had worked long before he envisaged purchasing the property. It was on the 30th June 1867 that the 3rd Louis Latour, by means of a handwritten deed, became the owner of this building and all its effects. The Latour family took up residence in a wing of the building situated at 18 and 16 rue des Tonneliers to be near to their business. They continued to live there until the 6th Louis Latour decided to move, with his family, to the centre of Beaune, not far from the offices. Certain details bear witness to the original use of the building as a family home, such as the former dining room, now a reception area where lunches are hosted for visiting clients.
The acquisition of this building allowed the Latour family to move into the centre of town and mix with the upper echelons of wine trading circles in Beaune, whilst maintaining their winemaking roots at Aloxe-Corton, where the four previous generations of the Latour family had built up an estate of enviable reputation. This period marked a significant point in the history of Maison Latour who, from then on, combined the professions of growers and landowners with that of winemakers and merchants in order to help their business grow.
Today the commercial and administrative services of Maison Latour are still to be found at 18 rue des Tonneliers in Beaune. The parts of the building that were formerly living quarters have been renovated and converted over the years to provide agreeable and elegant work spaces.
