"Depending on the vintage, we produce 10,000 to 15,000 cases."Įven the manure is special at Chateau Latour. "In our permanent search for excellence, I'm very fortunate for being under no obligation to produce a specified number of bottles," says Engerer. He had a vision for Chateau Latour and it's being translated in myriad ways. At the time of harvest, you must be extremely reactive to the conditions on the ground."Įngerer replaced the entire Chateau Latour team in 1998-99 because he wanted people who took "a fresh look at their work every day," and not did something just because their fathers or grandfathers had trod the same path. It's an additional expense because we cannot compromise on quality. "We settle on an optimal harvest date for each plot, which means we have grape pickers working much longer than they should. "Each parcel has its own story," says Engerer, explaining why all of them aren't harvested together at Chateau Latour. Quality pays and Engerer knows this too well. In the last five years, Chateau Latour has commanded prices that are 45% higher than the average of the other four First Growths.
Engerer was on his second visit to India and he was speaking to on the eve of a vertical tasting organised by Brindco's Aman Dhall, Latour's Indian importer.Īt Chateau Latour, Engerer's team goes to lengths to ensure top quality, which, in turn, drives prices. "If you start making commercial compromises with this terroir, you cannot produce great wine," says the Frenchman who took charge of Chateau Latour 11 years ago after Pinault, who owns the luxury labels Gucci and YSL and the auction house Christie's, acquired the First Growth gem from Pearson plc, the media conglomerate that owns Financial Times and the publishing house, Dorling Kindersley. A striking feature of this exercise was the renovation of the chateau's fermentation room, which now has 66 water-cooled, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, so that the grape must from each plot can be vinified separately.
FARMING SIMULATOR 17 GETTING STARTED UPGRADE
"We are fortunate to have an owner (French tycoon Francois Pinault) and shareholders who don't grudge any expense as long as it is an investment in quality," says Engerer, who in 2001 completed the chateau's most ambitious upgrade yet. For, it is passion, as Engerer tells us with understated vehemence, that drives quality at Chateau Latour. Chateau Latour's President cannot afford to be a bean counter and number cruncher. He's a graduate of France 's premier management institute and a former executive of the Boston Consulting Group, yet Frederic Engerer ( seen in the picture with Thomas Abraham of Taj Palace) hardly talks like a man who's grown up with P&L statements and company balance sheets. Excellence and quality are words that come more naturally to him. The Bordeaux First Growth's Monsieur President dislikes the word technology. Engerer Explains Latour's Obsession With Quality
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