Burgundy’s Maison Louis Latour Makes Leadership Appointments, Aiming For U.S. Growth
March 26, 2024Maison Louis Latour, one of Burgundy’s largest players with production of approximately 750,000 cases annually, has made two new leadership appointments as it looks to continue expanding both in the U.S. and internationally. Twelfth-generation family member Eléonore Latour has been named vice president, based in Burgundy. She’s the daughter of the late Louis Fabrice Latour, who led the maison for more than two decades.
Also, industry veteran Francois Beall has been appointed vice president of sales of Louis Latour Inc., the company’s wholly owned U.S. subsidiary. Beall most recently led sales and marketing in Southern California for Chambers & Chambers, which represents a number of elite Burgundy producers, and prior to that managed Ste. Michelle Wine Estates’ luxury portfolio for the Southern California market, among other roles. Beall will work alongside Bernard Retornaz, who launched the U.S. subsidiary over 30 years ago and is retiring at the end of 2024 to become vice chairman of the Groupe Latour advisory board. Both new appointments report to Louis Latour CEO Florent Latour.
“Louis Latour Inc. has been led for more than 30 years in the U.S. by Bernard Retornaz, who is going to retire soon,” Florent Latour told SND. “So we had to find someone to take over, and with Francois Beall we feel like we have someone who not only knows the U.S. distribution landscape very well, but also is a strong cultural fit for us.”
Latour added that the company has seen strong sales for its focus wines in the U.S. the past few years. Those include whites like Macon Lugny ($19), Pouilly-Fuissé ($40), Meursault ($115), and Meursault Château de Blagny ($140), along with reds such as Pinot Noir Bourgogne ($24), Marsannay Rouge ($40), Pommard ($85), Volnay ($95), and Aloxe-Corton Chaillots ($120). Overall, Latour has annual U.S. depletions of approximately 85,000 cases for its Bourgogne appellation wines, along with another 35,000 cases of Vin de Pays bottlings.
“2022 was a record year for Latour on the U.S. market. We couldn’t quite keep that level last year, due to a variety of factors,” Latour noted. “But now we have a significant vintage to sell, the 2022 vintage, which we didn’t have in 2021, because we lost up to 60% of the harvest that year due to frost, so we’re quite optimistic for 2024.” —Daniel Marsteller
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