History

DEEP ROOTS,
AN AUTHENTIC STORY

Louis Roque was born in 1874 in Sarlat.
He grew up in a family of distillers, a tradition passed down from father to son. At the end of the century, the Roque family witnessed firsthand the Phylloxera crisis, as an insect from the United States ravaged the region's vineyards.

The Roque family in 1875

Drawing of a still by Clovis Retif

To understand and overcome these challenges, Louis enrolled at the Bordeaux School of Oenology. The years spent among vines, vats, and presses gave him refined expertise. His taste developed, his palate learned to discern each aroma.

First LR seal in 1905

Faculty of Oenology of Bordeaux, 1902

1905: CREATION
OF THE DISTILLERY

With his diploma in hand, Louis married and settled in Souillac with his wife and two daughters. He established his own distillery in a former convent, setting up production on the ground floor and his living quarters upstairs.

First correspondence card

Archival postcard of Souillac with Maison Louis Roque established in a former convent.

THE PARIS-SOUILLAC
LINE

Though this small town in the Lot was affected by rural exodus, Louis felt that it was here, on this land, that his dream would come to life. Ideally located on the northern edge of a meander in the Dordogne River, Souillac had a train station on the line connecting Toulouse to Paris. For Louis, this station was the gateway to all culinary adventures.

The distillery's first catalogue

Postcard of the Toulouse > Paris Viaduct

Historic coat of arms

1910: LOUIS
RECIPE INNOVATOR

Oenologist, alchemist and explorer, Louis filled entire notebooks with bold recipes: Anisette, Croquet quinquina, Curaçao, mint liqueur, Armagnac, L'Inconnue Liqueur… Leading to La Vieille Noix which would become the precursor to his iconic product, La Vieille Prune.

1920: CREATION
OF LA VIEILLE PRUNE

After the Great War, Louis was finally able to travel across France in search of new fruits, venturing as far as the rarest orchards of Alsace and Lorraine. He tasted, compared, and refined. After months of research, Louis perfected the recipe for a plum eau-de-vie that was both subtle and delicate, which he aged in oak casks. For the bottle, he created a unique design for an eau-de-vie. The charm worked instantly.

First label from the typography

Herbarium dating from 1963

Magnum of Vieille Prune (archival photo)

1946: CLOTILDE AND
THE GRAND TABLES

Having become a countess, Clotilde, Louis' daughter, took over from her father. She sought to establish La Vieille Prune de Souillac at the finest tables in Paris: from Le Grand Véfour, to La Tour d'Argent, including La Petite Chaise and Le Pré Catelan, she built relationships and cultivated an address book featuring the most refined palates and aesthetes of the capital.

SOUILLAC,
FOREVER...

Orchards and summer sunshine. Walnuts, quinquina, plums. And then Souillac. The cobblestones, the plane trees, the pale stone. Taste embarks on this journey: the Dordogne breeze, the warmth of the Lot, the scent of wood and fruit mingling with the damp earth.

You can feel the Lot, this land apart, almost at the world's edge. Its villages anchored in a living heritage, where time stretches out. Rocamadour nestled against the cliff, Sarlat golden in the evening light.

Photos by Sébastien Colpin

THE DESTINY OF AN ICON
OF FRENCH GASTRONOMY

Maison Louis Roque embodies the French art of living: at the crossroads of terroir and elegance. Born in Souillac through the expertise of Louis Roque, brought to Paris by the free spirit of his daughter Clotilde. La Vieille Prune has established itself as a distinctive icon, bridging the France of bistros and haute cuisine.

120 YEARS AND
A NEW BEGINNING

Combining excellence and authenticity is the challenge taken on by three Champagne natives passionate about gastronomic heritage. Having taken the reins of the House in 2025, the three friends aim to contribute to this legacy by blending heritage, intuition, and innovation. Their challenge: to continuously elevate product quality through mastery of aging and a taste for the long term.

At the heart of the House, a dedicated team ensures this continuity. Together, they carry forward the tradition and weave connections between the different eras of the House.