Laurent Fortin

The Climb

Since 2013, Laurent Fortin has been General Manager of Château Dauzac, a post that asks for more than cellar oversight. The work sits between vineyard direction, operational discipline, and the longer view required to keep an estate moving with consistency season after season.

Today

Fortin continues as Managing Director. He puts the scope of the role in direct terms: "I am a wine entrepreneur. I often say: “I am not in the wine business, I am in the business of wine”." That line frames the job as a working system rather than a fixed product, with decisions running from vineyard to market and from identity to execution. At Château Dauzac, that approach is reflected in Labastide Dauzac, which is produced through plot-by-plot selection. The method points to precision in how the estate reads and uses its parcels, favoring nuance over broad treatment and keeping the character of each plot visible in the final wine.

Signature

Laurent's signature wines include Labastide Dauzac. The name is tied to the same priorities that shape the wider role: disciplined selection, attention to origin, and a clear sense of how place and intent are carried through the wine. In that sense, the signature is evidence of a working method as much as a bottle.

In Their Words “I’m passionate about ampelography, viticulture, wine, marketing and innovation, and I have spent a large part of my career abroad, particularly on the Asian and American continents.” “I am a wine entrepreneur. I often say: “I am not in the wine business, I am in the business of wine”.”

Recognition

Fortin’s own account links technical curiosity with market awareness: "I’m passionate about ampelography, viticulture, wine, marketing and innovation, and I have spent a large part of my career abroad, particularly on the Asian and American continents." That mix places the work in more than one register at once: vineyard, business, and exchange. Across the career, the emphasis stays on treating wine as a field that requires constant learning and adjustment, not a static category.