Louis Latour Agencies

Maison Louis Latour and Simonnet-Febvre support the Beaujolais Run

22 November 2016

Last Monday a group of 20 cars set off from the Goodwood Circuit in West Sussex set off on the 2016 Beaujolais Run through the UK and France raising funds for Air Ambulance via the John Surtees Foundation. Simonnet-Febvre and Maison Louis Latour are proud partners of this year’s Run and provided a series of experiences for competitors during trip.

The Beaujolais Run’s history dates back to the 1970s when it was conceived as race to bring the first Beaujolais of the season back to London. Today it has developed into a navigation challenge from the UK to France where the winners are those who complete the route, solving clues as they go, in the shortest distance and raising the most money for the John Surtees Foundation. The teams have no idea of the route in advance and collect a new clue at each check point. This year’s race theme celebrated the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and teams had to use their knowledge of his work to solve each clue.

UK - Goodwood & Woodcote Park

The teams UK introduction to Maison Louis Latour was led by Louis Latour Agencies. Guy Nightingale conducted an introductory tasting at Goodwood on Sunday evening and Louis Latour Agencies MD Will Oatley and Prestige Account Manager Sophie Cruise took part in the UK leg of the Run, meeting the competitors at Goodwood and their first stop at the Royal Automobile Club’s country club Woodcote Park (pictured) before crossing the channel to France.

France, Chablis - Simonnet-Febvre

The Run arrived in Burgundy on Tuesday afternoon and began with an early afternoon stop at Simonnet-Febvre’s cellars in the town of Chablis. They were met by winemaker Jean-Philippe Archambaud and received a tour of the historic Chablis cellars and a tasting of four wines; a Crémant de Bourgogne and three different Chablis wines.

France, Côtes du Nuits - Louis Latour

Next stop was Louis Latour’s Romanee Saint Vivant Les Quatres Journaux vineyard. This vineyard has been in the Latour family since December 1898 and is adjacent to Romanee Conti, only separated by a narrow track. A journaux is an old French measurement for the area of land one person can work in a day and corresponds approximately to 0.4 hectares.

France, Aloxe-Corton - Louis Latour

Day two’s third check point was Louis Latour’s cuverie in the village of Aloxe-Corton. Set into the hillside on the edge of the village and the Maison Louis Latour and Louis Latour Agencies teams were on hand to welcome everyone and show them around. To celebrate the run Maison Louis Latour provided a large tasting of 14 wines including the Grand Crus of Corton-Charlemagne and Château Corton-Grancey that surround the Cuverie. It is a testament to the integrity of the run that a number of the competitors struggled to find the check point, armed only with the address and without the name of the company. There were a few false finishes around the little village of Aloxe-Corton, but everyone completed the challenge by dusk.

Later that evening we welcomed the whole group back to Aloxe-Corton for a traditional Burgundy dinner hosted by Louis-Fabrice Latour. Château Corton Grancey is the historic summer home of the Latour family, where in days gone by, they lived during the summer months and harvest to be close to their vines and winery. In 2015 Maison Louis Latour completed an extensive renovation of the Château which is now used for seminars, tastings and dinners. We were very pleased to able to welcome the Beaujolais Run who are the first private group from the UK to visit. The Château sits in the vineyard of Aloxe-Corton Les Chaillots and wines from this vineyard and Pernand-Vergelesses from the premier crus of En Caradeux and Ile de Vergelesses were enjoyed by everyone during the dinner.

France, Côte d’Or - Louis Latour

On Wednesday morning the team headed off bright and early towards Beaujolais and their final finishing point in Mâcon however, one last stop in the Côte d’Or beckoned and we met the group at the first check point of the day at Maison Louis Latour’s vineyard Chevalier Montrachet Les Demoiselles. Latour have owned this vineyard since 1913 and its name pays homage to a former owner, two sisters Adèle and Julie Voillot. The vineyard lies on the hillside above Montrachet and the competitors, keen to make every metre count, parked on the road and walked along the track up to the vineyard to complete their task. Wednesday is the day that competitors traditionally dress in costume inspired by the year’s theme and so on a damp November morning we watched assorted Shakespearean characters make their way through the vineyards.

Onwards to Beaujolais

And with that the run left Louis Latour and headed south passing through six further check points, including the Hotel Les Maritonnes in Romanèche-Thorins where the Run was originally conceived in 1970, finishing that evening Mâcon.

We would like to thank the organiser Rob Bellinger and everyone involved for including Simonnet-Febvre and Maison Louis Latour in this year’s event.

This years winners are:

• David Gaunt and Geoffrey Still winner P1 2017: Most money raised. Aston Martin DB7

• Winners Shortest Distance GT2 Sat Nav and Any Assistance: Andy Hedley and Gary Scruby BMW Z4 coupé

• Winners Shortest Distance GT1 Maps Only Classic: Matt Weeks and Katie Redhead MGB GT • Winners Shortest Distance GT1 Maps Only Modern: Johan and Janine Sjoblom Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

• Winners Shortest Distance 4x4 Jaan Larner and Alistair Kinsella: Audi A6 Allroad

• Cuilleur en Bois Most miles travelled - Jean Marc Derossis and Andrew Kelley : Ferrari 550 Maranello