Caroline Latrive

Caroline Latrive joined Deutz in 2022 and still marvels at the sophistication offered by the finest Champagne terroirs, with Aÿ remaioning the historic heartland. Guided by an intuitive approach—as technical as it is sensitive—the Cellar Master brings a breath of fresh creativity to the House, approaching each cuvée as a work of art in its own right. Her commitment is firmly to the consistency of the Deutz signature and style, forged through collective collaboration and in constant dialogue with the vineyards.

A true daughter of Champagne, Caroline Latrive was born in Reims, the daughter of a consultant oenologist whom she accompanied on his trips as a child. This early calling led her to train at prestigious Houses including Piper-Heidsieck, Charles Heidsieck, Roederer and Palmer & Co, where she met her future predecessor at Deutz, Michel Davesne, who had been Cellar Master at Palmer & Co since 1985. After graduating in oenology, Caroline tirelessly honed her expertise and refined her vision, first at Bollinger and then at Ayala from 2007. There, she spent 15 years putting her talents into furthering the estate’s reputation, earning her stripes as Cellar Master in 2012 at a time when the role was still a staunchly male preserve. In 2022, Deutz welcomed her with the certainty that she would uphold the House’s spirit whilst infusing it with her own creativity.

The same winemaking philosophy; the same respect for the wine. For over a year, in the historic cellars and on the hillside vineyards of Aÿ, Caroline Latrive and Michel Davesne brought their visions together, to achieve a true transmission of a style and a unique emotion. “One can only create perfectly within a House whose wines one understands, in which one recognises oneself.” Today, the Cellar Master is the guardian of a distinctive style, characterised by its clarity, precision and consistency. A consistency renewed through numerous tasting sessions and blending trials, where the balance of a cuvée is reinvented each year without ever betraying its spirit. In this search for perfection, the natural answer always eventually appears “like a revelation.”

This revelation is always the work of a collective. Around Caroline Latrive, a close-knit oenology team: Olivier Bernard, whose fifteen years with the House have fostered an intimate understanding of its identity, and Delphine Goffette, whose sensitivity and technical expertise enrich the collective reflection. Together, they take part in the Tasting Committee, bringing their expertise into dialogue with that of Marc Hoellinger, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Cédric Georget, Vineyard Director. Cédric Georget brings a forward-looking perspective, focused on plant material, viticultural practices and the imprint they leave on each wine.

“Blending is not an addition, but an exponential result.” The fruit of a collective effort where everyone has a say, even if the final decision rests with the Cellar Master herself. Caroline Latrice also sees this philosophy as applying to the entire region. The art of blending, with its reserve wines, its diversity of grape varieties and terroirs, gives the region its resilience in the face of climatic challenges – and its wines their durable elegance.

The Cellar Master’s favourite cuvée is Amour de Deutz, in which her affinity for Chardonnay finds its purest expression: “presence without exuberance, intensity without force, pleasure without excess.” A deep and delicate Blanc de Blancs, which Caroline Latrive fondly remembers as part of a vertical tasting with her predecessor “the finest passing down of knowledge I could have hoped for.”