Remembering Daniel
Cathiard

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | FEBRUARY 26, 2026

I was deeply saddened to learn of Daniel Cathiard’s recent
passing. With his wife and life partner Florence, Cathiard transformed Smith
Haut Lafitte from a sleepy, run-down estate into one of Bordeaux’s most
respected châteaux.Daniel Cathiard and Florence Bernard met as teenagers, when
they were both members of the French national ski team. A few years later the
young couple married. The Cathiards ran Genty-Cathiard, the family’s
supermarket chain, and opened GoSport, a chain of sporting goods stores, both
of which they sold in 1989.Looking for a new adventure, the Cathiards purchased Smith
Haut Lafitte, a little regarded estate in Pessac-Léognan, in 1990. Smith Haut Lafitte
wasn’t just an investment for the Cathiards, it was, and remains, a way of
life. Whereas many owners live elsewhere and only visit their properties
occasionally, the Cathiards made their home at Smith Haut Lafitte, living in
the old chartreuse that is just a short bicycle trip away from the main
buildings. The Cathiards built a spa and resort on the estate and were among
the first to open a boutique where visitors could buy the wines, a radical
concept in Bordeaux at the time.





I started tasting the wines in the mid 1990s,
when I sold them in Boston area restaurants. The Blanc immediately made an
impression and remains one of my personal favorites. I began visiting the
estate about a dozen years ago, twice a year, in the spring to taste the
primeurs and in early winter to taste the bottled wines. Daniel Cathiard was
always there, a constant presence. His cool, introspective demeanor was the
perfect foil for Florence’s exuberance. Whereas there is never any doubt what
Florence is thinking, Daniel often said more with a twinkle of an eye, a
glance, a brief gesture than with words. It was enough to make himself clearly
understood. Together, they formed a formidable couple, as witnessed by their
considerable success.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1772121980994-Daniel+Cathiard_Vinous.jpg">Daniel Cathiard’s exploits as a competitive skier and
successful businessman are well known, but what impressed me most was his total
commitment to organic farming, sustainability and fostering a healthy
ecosystem, all catch phrases today, but concepts that he and Smith Haut Lafitte
helped pioneer in Bordeaux. Technical Director Fabien Teitgen joined in 1995
and helped drive many of the estate’s initiatives in the vineyard and cellar.
The Cathiards built their own cooperage on-site, another example of their total
quest for excellence.In 2020, the Cathiards purchased the former Flora Springs
estate in Napa Valley and established Cathiard Vineyard. They dove into their
new business endeavor with the same passion that informed all their previous
ventures. &nbsp;Like most outsiders, the
Cathiards underestimated some of the challenges of operating another winery in
a distant country, but that never diminished their enthusiasm or commitment.
Their first vintage was beset by the most traumatic and dangerous wildfires in
living memory. The Cathiards were undeterred. Wine Marketing 101 in Napa Valley
says new projects must be launched with a strong vintage. The Cathiards paid no
heed to conventional thinking and presented Cathiard Vineyard to the outside
world with the 2020 vintage. “We had 1991 and 1992 at Smith, right after we
bought the property, so we are accustomed to dealing with difficult years,”
Daniel Cathiard told me, showing the quiet, understated confidence that defined
him.



All of us at Vinous extend our deepest condolences to the
Cathiard family.© 2026, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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