The Cooperage
A singular and distinctive activity
For over a century, the art of barrel making has been an integral part of our culture. As the only winemakers in Burgundy to make their own barrels, at Maison Louis Latour we benefit from complete mastery of the delicate balance involved in the interaction between oak and wine.
A singular and distinctive activity
At Maison Louis Latour, we have always performed this
traditional activity in our own cooperage. Oak from the forests of northern
France ages in the open air for more than two years. The wood is then
handcrafted by the master coopers using traditional skills and techniques. Each
of our barrels is the painstaking work of an artisan. We age our wines in these
barrels whose qualities we know intimately, for we only produce a single type.
They are medium toasted and branded with the year of production, which allows
our oenologists to choose a proportion of new or already used barrels for each
wine, and to form a clear idea of the exchange that will occur between the wood
and the wine.
The Louis Latour Cooperage produces around 3500 barrels each year, half of which are used for ageing our own wines and the other half exported to the most prestigious producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay around the world.