demarville laurent-perrier
Champagne Laurent-Perrier in 2013.
(Image credit: G. Garitan / Wikipedia)

Dominique Demarville will leave Laurent-Perrier on 15 July, confirmed Arnaud Richard, the Champagne house’s director of marketing and communications.

He told Decanter.com via email that Demarville was departing by mutual agreement and for ‘personal reasons’. He added, ‘We respect personal decisions, so we won’t comment on them.’

At Veuve, and at Champagne Mumm before that, he built a reputation as one of the most respected winemakers in the region.

Demarville was set to take the reins at Laurent-Perrier from the house’s long-standing chef de cave, Michel Fauconnet, who was nearing retirement.

It is understood that the two winemakers were initially working side-by-side, as is traditional during the succession process at many Champagne houses.

Laurent-Perrier’s Richard indicated that Fauconnet would continue in the role for now. ‘Michel Fauconnet has never stopped being chef de cave during this [recent] period,’ he said.

Separately, Laurent-Perrier last week reported a 1.2% dip in Champagne sales for its latest fiscal year, which ran to 31 March 2020.

Champagne sales were €231.3m, versus €234.1m in the previous year, although net profits rose by 2.6% to €23.8m and the family-controlled group boosted its operating cash flow.

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Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.