Hommage to Laurent Vaillé

The world of wine lost a legendary vigneron last week - Laurent Vaillé of Domaine de la Grange des Pères passed away Friday, April 30 at the age of 57.

An intensely private and enigmatic man, Vaillé trained under renowned winemakers Gérard Chave in Hermitage, Jean-François Coche in Meursault, and Eloi Durrbach of Domaine Trevallon in Provence. Settling in the village of Aniane in the L’Hérault region of Languedoc in 1989, Vaillé built his domaine completely from scratch, using dynamite, bulldozers, and elbow grease to clear what he thought would be the best terroir on his land. He grafted cuttings from his mentors’ vineyards - Syrah, Marsanne, and Roussane from Chave and Cabernet Sauvignon from Trevallon. The resulting wines spoke for themselves. As intense and complex as their winemaker, the wines showed a depth and elegance that belied their ‘humble’ origin and developed a worldwide cult following.

The reputation of La Grange des Pères actually helped lead to the creation of a new appellation in the area, Terrasses du Larzac, but Vaillé, forever marching to the beat of his own drum, somewhat ironically continued to bottle his wines under the more humble “Vin de Pays de l’Hérault.” We all owe Laurent a debt for showing what a hardworking, visionary pioneer could accomplish in previously undiscovered terroirs.

Below is a tribute from Daniel, who was friends with Laurent for nearly 30 years:

RIP Laurent Vaillé. When I came to see you in 1993 and we spent 5 or 6 hours lunching on mom’s cooking, tasting your first vintage (1992) and drinking by the canal I knew we had a bond. We have worked together for almost 30 years. I have loved your wines, your mom’s cooking (moules Palavassiennes and wild boar caught with your tractor! ), your Coche collection and so much more! I/we will miss you dear Laurent.