Newsletters
 April, 2012
Dear Customer,
And so to our usual verbiage: our newsletters can be unfashionably verbose, so if you prefer to go straight to a particular topic, the main headings are below.
General
You will have noticed that the price of shopping in France has come down, with a weakened euro against the pound. Currently the euro rate stands at around 1.21 to the pound.
In case you should ever wonder, before VAT the UK duty currently stands at £1.90 per bottle of still wine and £2.43 on each bottle of sparkling wine. Add 20% VAT to both the duty and to the value of the wine and you have ... a very unhappy situation for UK wine drinkers. With the average sale price of a bottle of wine in the UK being £4.55, this means that around 60% of the cost of that bottle is now consumed in tax.
In France there is only a negligible rate of duty on wine, thanks to the country being a major supplier of wine. So, its tax still remains at an almost non-existent rate of around £0.02 per bottle!
Many of you say the same thing - epitomised by one happy customer not so long ago "One has to be crazy to buy wines in England. Virtually no choice on the high street and when you can find something interesting, it's ridiculously expensive... This (coming to Ardres) is so much fun, it's so easy, we make a day of it and everyone is happy".
On our list you get a good selection of French wines here in Ardres with some huge savings over UK prices. You can rest assured that all the wines on this list, starting at just 2,90€ (around £2.50) per bottle, have been tasted and selected by me as being "good" in their own different ways - it's then simply a question of your personal preferences and of course everyone has different tastes.
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New Reduced Cross Channel Fares
I am very pleased to tell you that we have agreed a new special favourable crossing rate with P&O.
What P&O has also done is to offer Boursot customers the same rate for a Day Return as for an Overnight Stay (meaning returning before midnight the following day). So if you have a longer drive from Britain or Ireland, or simply want to take it easy, you can book at this advantageous rate at no premium. We can then help you with ideas of where to stay in the locality.
Assuming you book through this link, for a car and up to 9 passengers, prices are from £22 for travel every day except Saturday when the rate will be £25. There may be some specific supplement dates but provided there's availability and that you're travelling in a standard car, you will pay these low rates. This link is also accessible through the Offers page of our website.
For those of you in the South East who simply want to hop across and collect your wines, there is also an Afternoon Rate of £19, meaning leaving after midday and returning before midnight. So, after buying your wines, you will also be able to fit in some fine dining!
We hope you find this helpful.
In case you didn't know it already, we should point out that Tesco clubcard points can be exchanged for Eurotunnel tickets, although it may not be possible to use these in conjunction with an existing Offer.
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Boursot's Hotel Offer
We have a list of local hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, golf clubs and places of interest on our website under the Local Info button from our Home Page - or directly here. Whilst talking about Local Info, we also list the Bank Holidays so that you do not find, on getting here, that everything is closed (except Boursot's Wine Collection of course which remains open every day except Sundays and Mondays and over Christmas).
As a Boursot's Wine Collection customer, you will receive reduced rates at the 4 star Hôtel Château Tilques between here and Saint-Omer of 129€ per room Sundays to Fridays and 159€ for Saturday nights; these prices are per night for two people, including breakfast and are of course offered subject to availability. When booking, please mention Boursot to get your special rates.
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Our UK online wine-related gift boutique, Grapes & Vines Gift Designs, continues to grow. Click the link above to see the selection of items - from USB flash drives disguised as corks, framed copies of our exclusive Nick Newman wine cartoons (that you may have admired in our shop), natural wine soaps, wine map tea towels, sterling silver tastevin cufflinks as well as many more wine accessories. These make great presents for wine lovers and you can order these online and the items will be delivered to you at home within a few days. Many of these items are also available to look at in our Ardres shop from where you can of course collect.
Several gifts have been specifically designed and made for us, so you will not find them elsewhere. There are many more items to appear so do please keep looking or sign up via this page to receive direct updates via ezine or Twitter.
The Blog is constantly adding new articles and the wine related ones have been written by yours truly.
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Your Own Events in France
You may know it already but we are often asked to help organise various social events - for groups such as Golf Clubs, Rotary Clubs, U3A, Wine Clubs, Car Clubs, birthday parties, office parties, pre-wedding parties etc.
Typically, we would discuss your desired objectives for your event and then work backwards from there. We can liaise on your behalf with local restaurants and if required, hotels. Being locals, often we are allowed to provide our wines in restaurants at our shop prices and with no cost of "corkage" to you.
Depending on whether you would like it, I can talk a little about the various wines being served, probably concluding with some entertaining words about what's going on in the World of Wine. These events are always fun and they are different: with only 23 miles across that English Channel, but a million miles away in cultural terms, people always seem delighted to get away for a complete change of scenery and for a bit of French life.
With some advantageous deals on cross channel fares as well as with local restaurants and hotels, you can really entertain your guests here in northern France at extraordinary value.
In addition of course, I am happy to travel to you to present wine related events to your groups or dinners.
Do please contact me by phone or on guy@boursot.com to explore your options.
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Forthcoming Boursot Events
All our customer lunches and dinners are of course held in English. Vegetarian and alternative food options can also be provided, as long as we receive notice at the time of booking. Please contact us on ardres@boursot.co.uk or on +33 321 36 81 46 to book for any of our events below.
If a guest speaker is unable to attend, we will endeavour to find another speaker and if none is available, Guy Boursot will present the talk.
Boursot's Wine Collection is usually open on the Sunday morning after a Saturday night dinner.
Saturday 28th April: "Wine" presented by Filip Verheyden at Hotel Atlantic, Wimereux
Our guest speaker for this event was to have been Filip Verheyden, editor of Tong but sadly other circumstances have forced him to back out of this engagement. He hopes to be able to come back on another date.
Primarily Tong is a quarterly magazine but it has recently produced its first book called "Wine" (!) which with its 288 pages is a must-buy for anyone who has an interest in wine, and that at just £26, it also offers super value. You can order it to have delivered to your UK address through this link.
Chapters include: What does good wine taste like? How do I choose wine from a supermarket shelf? Further chapters contain more in-depth knowledge: How to combine wine with food? What is the vine like? How does climate influence a wine's taste? What really happens in a winery? And a whole lot more.
So as the stand-in for this evening, Guy Boursot will be presenting "The Next Big Thing" talking about the trends that are about to come over the wine market, both behind the scenes and on the shelves. Discussed will be such topics as natural wine, the "new" style Australian wines breaking on the UK market, the packaging of wine and the effects of global warming.
The Atlantic hardly needs any introduction. Alain Delpierre, chef proprietor, is one of the region's finest chefs and is one of the few Maitre Cuisiniers of France. Situated on the seafront at Wimereux, you could not find a better setting for a relaxing gastronomic break.
Tickets for this Gourmet Dinner are 89€ (around £75) per person to include a bubbly reception, a five course dinner and five more wines. And of course some top discussion! We have blocked off rooms at the Atlantic and there are also plenty of other hotel rooms within easy walking distance.
Saturday 12th May: "The Diversity of Flavours from the Loire" presented by Guy Boursot at Restaurant Le Cygne, Saint-Omer
The Loire, as France's longest river, runs through a number of different soils and micro-climates giving rise to an array of different styles of wine: white, pink and red, sparkling, dessert - it has them all. As there are so many different styles you will begin the evening tasting a small cross section and then with dinner, you will be able to enjoy six other wines.
The vaulted cellar of the Restaurant Le Cygne makes a wonderful setting for our wine dinners. With its warm atmosphere and excellent and innovative cuisine, this is arguably one of the very best restaurants of the region. There are some simple hotels within easy walking distance, so please ask us for their names if you should need any help. For more luxury, there is also Chateau Tilques, a 10 minute drive away, and where we have special rates.
The price of 74€ (about £62) includes a bubbly reception and five more wines to accompany the four course dinner of fine cuisine. And of course all entertainment!
Sunday 8th July: Mid-Summer Lunch: La Fête de la Belle Roze: Mid-Summer Lunch at Restaurant Le François Premier, Ardres
As you probably know, Ardres has a rich and colourful history dating from the 14th century. Being at the meeting point of the three "nations" of the Dukedoms of France, England who owned Calais, and the Spaniards who owned the Saint-Omer area, Ardres was an important trading post as well as a military stronghold. The town was defended by the Rambures regiment under the French Marquis de Rouville and indeed its arsenal was opposite the Boursot shop. To this day, you can find many historical sites around the town, including the remaining bastion and the underground storage silos.
The Fête de la Belle Roze is held every two years to celebrate the saving of Ardres from being burned down by the Spaniards in 1653. This day is full of local colour and music and you can see several references to it on the internet. You will also see Ardres' 30 foot high giants of La Belle Roze and King François 1st who came to Ardres in 1520 before meeting with King Henry VIII at the fabulous Camp de Draps d'Or.
So how appropriate it is that Boursot's Wine Collection has commandeered the François Premier restaurant on the square for its mid-summer lunch! With its ideal viewpoint and its guarantee of exquisite cuisine, you can be assured of a fun day out. The François Premier is the finest restaurant of Ardres.
Guy Boursot will talk informally about the wines being served as well as about current developments. The three course Sunday lunch will be preceded by a bubbly reception and then accompanied by a further five Boursot wines, and everything will cost just 58€ (around £48 at today's rate). It will be a fun day.
Saturday 13th October: Anniversary Gourmet Dinner at Hotel Atlantic, Wimereux - details to be arranged
We have blocked off some bedrooms at the hotel for our dinner, for which the theme and speaker have yet to be chosen. Also as usual, during the day we will be arranging tastings and other activities for you in Ardres.
Saturday 17th November: Bordeaux Dinner - Up to Margaux with Pierre Brousse-Schyler of Château Kirwan, 3ème cru classé Margaux. Venue to be arranged.
This will be one of our "great" dinners: we are honoured to have with us the head man from one of the most respected chateaux in Bordeaux. Classified as a 3rd growth in 1855, Château Kirwan in Margaux is nowadays back on top form, producing some stunning and widely acclaimed wines.
The venue will be the four star Hôtel Château Tilques between Ardres and Saint-Omer and because this will be such a major Boursot dinner, we will be trialling menus beforehand to ensure the highest possible quality of food and wines.
You can of course ask Monsieur Schyler about all matters Bordelais and I'm sure that he will be up for a bit of lively discussion! Tickets for this Gourmet Dinner are 84€ (around £69) per person for this four course dinner and several wines that are still to be defined, although you can be assured that we will be enjoying some top Margaux from Château Kirwan!
We have blocked off rooms at Hôtel Château Tilques, so please let us know if you should like to take a room from our allocation.
This is expected to be a very popular dinner and we recommend you reserve your places as soon as you can. We will keep you in touch with further details as they unfurl.
Sunday 9th December: Ardres' Christmas Market and Boursot's Christmas Lunch at La Griotte, Ardres
From 10am that day, the annual Turkey Festival will be held about 20 minutes away in Licques, a village famed for its outdoor reared chickens and turkeys. Here, a flock of local turkeys is "shepherded" up the main street. Dotted along the route you can enjoy stew served from a huge steaming cauldron, eat roasted meat from street barbecues and you can even try out "Licquoise", a fiery local liqueur that will help to keep you warm. All for free. There are musicians and confrères and there is also a simple Christmas Market brimming with local produce. It is all typically "local French".
And then to lunch at La Griotte on the green in Ardres, which provides good quality "home cooking". Afterwards when your spirits have been warmed up, we suggest you "do" the Ardres Christmas Market which, in 2012, is expecting an additional injection of new ideas.
The four course lunch will be preceded by a bubbly reception and then accompanied by a further five Boursot wines, and everything will cost just 55€ (around £45 at today's rate). This is a fun day out and for many, makes a great start to the Christmas season.
You can book now for any event shown above. Other events are in preparation and as soon as we can announce further details, we will report those here.
You can book now for any event shown above. Other events are in preparation and as soon as we can announce further details, we will report those here.
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News in the World of Wine
You often ask me as a wine presenter and writer to tell you my thoughts about what appears to be happening currently in the global wine market. Here are my latest snippets!
Whilst I accept this is not about wine, on a personal level I was slightly sad to receive an e-mail from Orange recently advising that Minitel the French informatics system is to be finally disbanded on 30th June. For those of you who didn't know Minitel, it was the fore-runner to the internet in France and promoted by its government from 1982 - way ahead of its time. With its teletext fonts on small grey screens, it looks quaint nowadays and it is slow by modern standards. The system was given free of charge to every company in France and indeed, the sheer cost of doing that was part of its undoing; the other part being that affordable PCs with internet and e-mail facilities later became a reality, rendering the old systems of booking your train tickets or checking your share prices on-line obsolete. Adieu Minitel!
Once again we are back in Bordeaux "en primeur" time. Four major vintages (the harvests of 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010) have stretched customers' credulity and the media's volume has been turned up each year to promote these wines and justify the latest round of price increases.
The infant 2011 red grape juice has been tasted recently by fellow journalists in Bordeaux, but of course it is not yet a completed product as we know it: the wine is still lying in cask. Several journalists have published their thoughts on these young wines and only after publication do the producers come to announce their prices. This does not happen in many other markets but the Bordeaux en primeur market has been running without hindrance now for a good 30 years.
So you will start to see en primeur offers coming from most of the traditional wine merchants, whereby you may be invited to buy "futures" in these wines. The suggestion is that you are buying at opening prices, and that these wines should appreciate in value as they become more scarce. Indeed, the fine wine market has regularly outperformed lacklustre stock markets and savings accounts. The scope for fraud continues as more novices get into this investment game, and I was surprised to hear recent "news" that some wine funds had disappeared with investors' monies: this is not news, as you will have seen me say here each year over the last three years. If you need advice of how to invest in wine, do call me and I'll be delighted to offer some impartial advice.
Does the Bordeaux system operate in the best interests of the consumer? No, but this is a rarefied market that has become more interested in investors than drinkers, and even more so since the arrival on the scene of several emerging economies, notably the Far East. The producers and their brokers have been standing together for what looks like forever. Many thought that the system would never survive the internet, but it did.
So there is a sense of shock dawning across the market as one of the most important players in Pauillac, Château Latour, one of the exclusive five First Growths of Bordeaux has just announced that after this year's campaign, it will cease to take part in en primeurs and will refocus on offering its wines as they become more mature. They can afford to!
It is too early to tell, but in my view it is likely that this strategy may be followed by several other châteaux who really don't need to worry about selling all their production every year. And then what of the other classified growths and the rest of the market? Receiving investors' monies whilst the wine was being aged has been a wonderful help to cashflow and whilst many of the better producers probably don't need this assistance now, it does beg the question about how any possible domino effect might affect the lesser properties.
With this as a dramatic backdrop, the 2011 en primeur campaign is getting under way. As early as it is to pronounce, the quality for the reds was respectable but it did not have that of the previous two harvests: it has been described as a "winemaker's vintage" meaning that an extra pair of hands is needed to help out where Mother Nature was unable to provide the correct levels of all the right ingredients! 2011 may well turn out to be a year that is better respected for its whites.
Very few châteaux have released their prices yet as they tend to look over each others' shoulders to see the level at which each is pitching its prices. But early indications are that prices will be significantly lower - which has to be good news in a market that has become, in my view, ludicrously overheated as a result of good quality, restricted supply and rising Eastern demand.
Italy has had a blockbusting year with its export sales rising by 9% in volume to 24m hectolitres and 12% in value at 4.4bn€. Italy, as the world's largest wine producer, is now said to have 22% of the global wine market. The Italians' best customers are the USA and Germany with the UK in third position.
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Bio-Dynamic Calendar
You will have heard me talking or seen me writing about bio-dynamic viticulture over recent years and I thought it would be fun to show on our home page at www.boursot.co.uk an indicator as to how your wines might taste today! There is then a link in the panel which will take you to an article in which I have tried to précis some information on this curious phenomenon which remains largely unproven scientifically. If you want to hear more about bio-dynamic viticulture, you should come to the April dinner at the Hotel Atlantic in Wimereux, when I shall be talking about this as part of my "Next Big Thing" talk.
As hard to comprehend as it all seems, so many top vineyards around the world are now practicing bio-dynamic viticulture that it is not easy to ignore this phenomenon. And over recent weeks, researchers in Germany have proven that bio-dynamic wines do taste better than conventionally made wines. It is not for nothing that most major British supermarket chains only show off their wines to the Press on "Fruit" or "Flower" days! "Root" and "Leaf" days are not bad as such, but you may find that your wines do not taste quite so open and fruity on these days. I will be interested in your thoughts.
Treat this as a bit of fun!
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Wine Tourism
Whilst much of Europe has been relatively slow to catch on, nowadays Franc's vineyard areas in particular have really embraced wine tourism. You just have to visit Epernay, Beaune or Bordeaux to appreciate how wine tourism has been accepted and developed and whilst you can try dropping in on whoever will see you, many of the top domaines will only see you as part of an officially recognised group.
So if you should like to visit one of France's viticultural areas, do go to our vineyard tours company on www.overthetoptours.net - we will take you behind the scenes in many of the great vineyard areas where you will meet and often dine with some of the producers. Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Languedoc, Loire and Rhône are all areas that we visit and where we have great contacts who are happy to greet us and let us taste a wide selection of their wines.
We make up private tours specific to your preferences, so if you have a group of friends or colleagues whom you would like to get together on a vineyard tour, please do contact me on info@overthetoptours.net and we can start working out a strategy. All-in prices are surprisingly reasonable.
Twitter
Our address is @Boursots_Wine. Do please feel free to mention us and our wines if you are happy with what we do, and we will be pleased to retweet your comments to our own followers.
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Boursot's New List
You can always see our latest list on this link and if you would like to print it, it's available on this link. In case you are seeing an old version of the price list, try pressing Ctrl and F5 simultaneously on your computer so as to refresh the page.
You will probably recall the inexpensive but very tasty claret from Château Saint-Romans with which we ran for a number of years. The wine was very popular here and so it was a particular blow when the château announced that its young vines were now maturing and so would go into its main blend and that therefore this wine would be discontinued. It has taken a little time to find a suitable replacement but you should find that the Château Haut Pingat, Bordeaux from the excellent 2009 vintage will fulfil your expectations. This red is rich and soft on the palate and is worthy of a much higher price than the 5,40€ (£4.50 at today's rate) that we are charging. We have reserved what seems to be a decent quantity of the 2009 in Bordeaux, before we move onto the 2010 which inevitably will be at a higher price. So if you like good but sensibly priced claret, we urge you to react quickly.
New wines to the List this month:-
| Coteaux du Layon, Clair de Lune, Domaine Matignon (Loire), 2011 | 7,80€ |
| Saint-Véran, Croix de Montceau (Burgundy), 2010 | 8,30€ |
| Quincy, Domaine Mardon (Loire), 2011 | 9,60€ |
| Coteaux du Layon, Cuvée Prestige, Sélection de Tri, Domaine Matignon (Loire), 2010 | 11,20€ |
| Montmains, Premier Cru, Simmonet-Fèbvre (Chablis), 2009 | 17,70€ |
| Cabernet d'Anjou Rosé, Gourmandise, Domaine de Matignon (Loire), 2011 | 5,30€ |
| Château de Sours, Rouge (Bordeaux), 2001 | 6,50€ |
| Château Labat, Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Médoc (Bordeaux), 2007 In wooden cases | 13,90€ |
| Returning wines:- |
| | Bouzeron, Récolte du Domaine, Faiveley (Burgundy), 2009 | 8,90€ |
| Irancy, Domaine Simonnet-Fèbvre (Burgundy), 2006 | 10,70€ |
| Mercurey Rouge, Buissonnier, Vignerons de Buxy (Burgundy), 2009 | 10,80€ |
You will see that at the end of the red wine section, we have mentioned that we have some clarets from the great 2010 harvest, which are still maturing in Bordeaux. Among the wines we bought are Batailley, Blason d'Issan, Connetable de Talbot, du Tertre, Giscours, Kirwan and Pontet Canet. If you should be interested in buying some of these at pre-list prices, do please contact us.
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Stocks
Inevitably our stocks rise and fall according to the season. If there is something that attracts your eye in our current list, do call or e-mail us and we shall be pleased to put some stock on one side for you, so as to guarantee that you can have it for when you want to visit.
We also have a range of unusual sizes in wooden boxes, making smart gifts. For example, we have magnums, jeroboams (double magnums) and imperials (quadruple magnums) of Bordeaux, Champagne and Minervois, most of which are in wooden boxes at very sensible prices. As with our wine-related accessories, these make beautiful and unusual gifts.
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Special Offer for April
This month we are pleased to be highlighting our fabulous rosé that has won many friends over the last few years. It is a wine that can be enjoyed all year round, as intimated in the notes below! But summer will be here soon...
Le Syrah Rosé de Morin-Langaran (Languedoc), 2010 5,90 €5,20€ (£4.30)
Full fruited dry rosé in a stylish clear bottle, produced on the Etang de Thau in the far south. With the body of a red and the freshness of a white, this is wonderful for enjoying at all times - even in winter! One of the most attractive rosés you will taste.
You can reserve your order by telephoning or e-mailing us and we will be pleased, at no additional cost, to hold onto your wine until you can collect. Stocks are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
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In Conclusion
We are constantly being told that our offering is so much more exciting and wide ranging than the equivalent retail operation in Britain. We are proud of our wine selection which, thanks to your support, has been growing and is finding a wider audience with each passing month.
We do not advertise and it is unlikely that you will read a review on us in the British media, but we have found that your word of mouth continues to be our best source of new customers. So, if you are happy with what we do, please continue to help us by telling your wine loving friends, or tweet or blog about us - or you could refer them to our "Receive Monthly Newsletter" button on the home page of www.boursot.co.uk. We will be very grateful to you.
As with all our wines, we stand by our guarantee to take back any resaleable bottles if you find that the wine is not to your taste or if you have too many bottles left over after a party.
Remember: according to HM Customs & Excise you can take back as much wine as you like from France to Britain, provided that it's for your personal consumption. If you want to take back a lorry full of wine for your own use at weddings and parties, you are perfectly within your rights to do so.
We are open from 10 to 6 from MONDAY to SATURDAY (even if it's a French or British bank holiday), and we do not close for lunch.
If you are returning from a holiday, Boursot's Wine Collection is situated just off the old main north-south road (RN943) and 5 minutes off Junction 2 of the A26. Then from Ardres to the port or the tunnel in Calais takes 15 minutes. Please let us know if you should like to visit outside our normal opening hours; often it is possible to open up or else to leave your order nearby for you to collect - and we have a secure web page on which you can leave your card details.
We hope to see you here again very soon, whether it's for our delicious and easy to enjoy Petit Pont Réserve wines at around £3 a bottle or whether it's for something more exclusive for your special dinner parties. We have them all.
A bientôt!
With all best wishes,
Guy
Guy Boursot
Wine Consultants SARL
Boursot's Wine Collection
9 Rue de l'Arsenal
62610 ARDRES
+33 3 21 36 81 46
www.boursot.co.uk
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