Daniel Cathiard, who built an impressive third career as co-owner of Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Bordeaux and Cathiard Vineyard in Napa Valley, died on Jan. 28, after a sudden illness. He was 81.
“Until the very end, he remained true to himself,” said his wife, Florence Cathiard, in a statement. “He was the love of my life, and I don’t know anyone who didn’t love him.”
Daniel was born in Uriage les Bains, a mountain resort town not far from Grenoble in the French Alps. His grandfather owned a grocery and also functioned as a neighborhood négociant, buying fresh wine from farmers, then aging and selling it.
Daniel's father expanded the grocery business, opening a second store and then more. By the time Daniel was a teenager, proving himself a talented skier, his father had created a regional chain. Daniel made the French ski team and excelled at the downhill. In a 2011 profile, he described himself as an introverted child, but that competing gave him confidence.
When he was 17, Cathiard met 15-year-old Florence Bernard, a promising young slalom expert and an extrovert. Under the watchful eye of coaches and chaperones, the couple flirted for four years, before marrying. When they left the team, Florence studied English, Daniel economics. Both obtained graduate degrees in business. They dreamed of opening a ski resort once their athletic careers were done, perhaps in the United States.
But in 1972, Daniel's father fell ill. The couple returned to France, and Daniel took over the grocery chain Genty-Cathiard, a regional player in the "hypermarché" explosion that spawned superstores like Carrefour and Leclerc. With the help of Florence and his sister Sylviane, Daniel expanded the chain, taking advantage of the nascent computer revolution to improve efficiency and keep prices low. Next, he and Florence launched a new venture—a small Genty store in a Grenoble mall failed, so the Cathiards turned it into a sporting goods store; Go Sport eventually became an international chain.
By 1989, Genty had reached a critical mass—big enough to dominate the Grenoble area, but not to compete nationally. A rival superstore chain bought both Genty and GoSport for $40.8 million. Daniel took time off to explore life at age 45. He sailed, climbed mountains, drove rally cars in the Mexican desert. But he quickly realized he needed a new career. He was too competitive, too ambitious, and he missed working with his wife. "I like to work," he said.
So they looked at starting over. Daniel wanted to be creative, to make something artisanal. Wine held the greatest appeal. He fondly remembered growing up above his grandfather's cellars. After scouting trips to Burgundy, they ended up in Bordeaux’s Pessac-Léognan region, handing over a check for roughly $40 million for Smith-Haut-Lafitte, a winery most critics felt was past its prime.
[article-img-container][src=2026-01/ns_daniel-cathiardb-012926_1600.jpg] [caption= Daniel and Florence were dismissed as outsiders when they first arrived in Bordeaux, but impressed many by championing the region.] [credit= (Deepix Studio)] [alt= Daniel and Florence Cathiard at Smith-Haut-Lafitte.] [end: article-img-container]
Daniel threw himself into his new calling, reading every book on wine he could get his hands on. He embraced a new exercise regime—a daily formal tasting of a 25-wine flight. He hired top consultants, including the legendary Emile Peynaud, who would advise the Cathiards for two years before he retired.
Daniel soon realized that the steps to improved quality were obvious, just painful. He didn't hesitate. He sold off the giant mechanical harvester the last owner had recently purchased. Large tanks of herbicides and pesticides were disposed of. More vines were planted to increase vineyard density to about 3,500 plants per acre. Yields were dramatically reduced—by two-thirds for the red grapes.
One of his smartest moves was hiring Fabien Teitgen, first to oversee the vineyards and then the cellars, as technical director. Daniel also built his own cooperage onsite, giving them better control over barrel quality. Meanwhile, Florence focused on creative marketing and renovating the château. To attract visitors to the area, the couple built a spa and a luxury hotel. The quality of the wines rose dramatically.
In 2014, the Cathiards expanded, partnering with the Moulin family, owners of the upscale Paris shopping center Galeries Lafayette, to buy four châteaus on both the Left and Right Banks. As part of the deal, the Cathiards managed the estates.
Then, in 2020, the couple purchased the Flora Springs estate in Napa Valley, which straddles the Rutherford and St. Helena appellations, at the base of the Mayacamas mountain range. They renamed it Cathiard Vineyard and threw themselves into a new California chapter.
In recent months, both Daniel and Florence began handing off more responsibility for the wineries to their daughters and sons-in-law, starting a transition to the next generation. Daniel is survived by Florence, daughters Mathilde Thomas and Alice Tourbier, their husbands, and several grandchildren.
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