Newsletters
 December, 2010
Dear Customer,
Bonjour!
Our newsletters can be unfashionably verbose, so if you prefer to go straight to a particular topic, the main headings are below.
Boursot’s Reduced Cross Channel Fares
As a Boursot’s Wine Collection customer you should take advantage of our special arrangement with SeaFrance whereby you can get a special day return crossing fare for just £20 for your car and all passengers Sundays to Fridays, or £25 on Saturdays. From 1st January, this rate will go up to £25 and £29 respectively.
In addition, SeaFrance are offering you a 36 hour return of just £30 (£35 for Saturdays) as a Boursot customer. From 1st January, these become £35 and £40 respectively.
These savings over SeaFrance’s normal prices are only available to you as a registered member of our database, and are not visible on our website. You can book at these special rates directly on this link. If you lose this link, you can also go to www.seafrance.com and in the Offer Code panel, enter the word Boursot.
In addition if you spend more than 600€ with us, we will be happy to reimburse your day return fare booked through SeaFrance, so please remember to bring along your receipt.
You may have heard that SeaFrance is likely to be sold in the near future, but as yet there has been no decision. I am assured by a good inside source that the company will continue operating once a new partner is found, as SeaFrance has real assets, being the only operator on the Dover - Calais route that owns its boats.
In case you didn’t know it already, I should also point out that Tesco clubcard points can be exchanged for Eurotunnel tickets.
So now there is no excuse for not making it across to stock up on good wines at our low French prices for Christmas!
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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.
It is probably true to say that about three or four years ago, the 4 star Hôtel Château Tilques between here and Saint-Omer, was overly crowded with Brits and the consequence of that was that the hotel’s quality and value seemed to slip.
Now, things are very different as those of you who have been to our Gourmet Evenings there can testify, and we have no hesitation in recommending the hotel and its restaurant. The food is great, the service is impeccable and the bedrooms are characterful, light and spacious. With its idyllic setting, and proximity to the bustling and pretty town of Saint-Omer with its historic cathedral, I can’t think of a much better combination for an easy and tranquil getaway for a night or two.
As a Boursot’s Wine Collection customer, you can get reduced rates of 129€ per room Sundays to Fridays and 159€ for Saturday nights; these prices are per night for two people, including breakfast and are offered subject to availability. When booking, please mention Boursot to get your special rates.
Also between Monday and Friday, if you’d like to eat in the Brasserie du Parc, Château Tilques’ attractive conservatory, you will be offered a free kir – again, provided you mention Boursot’s Wine Collection!
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Your Own Events here in France
You may know it already but we help organise some of your social events - for groups such as Golf Clubs, Rotary Clubs, U3A, Wine Clubs, Car Clubs, birthday parties, office parties, pre-wedding parties etc.
Typically, you and I would discuss the desired objectives of 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 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.
We have advantageous deals with SeaFrance as well as local restaurants and hotels so you can entertain your guests at extraordinary value. Do please contact us to explore your options.
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Forthcoming Boursot Events
All our lunches and dinners are held in English. Vegetarian and alternative food options can of course be arranged, provided 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.
Saturday 29th January: Boursot’s “Blues Buster” Gourmet Dinner
“The Sheer Variety from Champagne” hosted by Guy Boursot at Hotel Château Tllques
January is when most of us need a bit of cheering up. So, on the 29th we will be hosting a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable evening in the cosy surroundings of the four star Hotel Château Tilques.
Most of us are given a glass of champagne and we think “that’s nice!” and yes, we are aware that there are some differences between the various brands on the market, but have we ever had a chance to compare several different champagnes side by side? As I will be pointing out, there is a wide variety of styles and indeed we will be contrasting non-vintage, vintage, rosé and sweet champagnes over our four courses of dinner.
This evening will be just 89€ per person (about £77 at today’s rate) to include four courses and six champagnes. There are no extras to pay. As usual we have blocked off a number of bedrooms at our advantageous rate of 159€ per room, breakfast included, so do please let us know if you would like to take up one of our rooms
As you may know by now, my family has been involved with the Champagne trade since the early 19th century (see www.boursot.co.uk/champagne.html) and indeed I was chairman of the Champagne Academy, the UK body that represents the interests of the Grande Marque champagne houses and have given many talks on, and taken tours to, Champagne. So you will be in good hands for this evening!
Saturday 26th March: Grande Champagne Cognac with Maison Jean Fillioux at Le Cygne Restaurant, Saint-Omer
Well, this could be an interesting evening! However as you may know, selecting cognac is done by “nosing” rather than by tasting. Having said that, we will of course taste a selection of wonderful cognacs from this top quality family producer that was established in 1880.
This evening will illuminate you as to how the spirit is made and what makes Cognac unique. A member of the Fillioux family will be with us for our evening which is planned to be held in the vaulted cellar of Saint-Omer’s finest restaurant, Le Cygne. The cuisine is of excellent quality, our wines will be served and then we will appreciate a selection of cognacs afterwards.
We will be happy to point you towards accommodation within easy walking distance.
Saturday 14th May: A Fundamental Guide to Burgundy by Guy Boursot. Local venue to be arranged
Burgundy is possibly one of France’s most confusing viticultural areas. It produces exquisite and highly sought wines from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes and names include Meursault, Montrachet and Musigny. It’s an area that is different to, say, Bordeaux where one name produces one wine. In Burgundy, just when you think you’ve found a name that you enjoy, such as Gevrey-Chambertin, you might see a bottle with the identical name but with a slightly different label, you buy it and it is simply not the same as the one you had previously. Why not? Is there a guaranteed route to finding the right Burgundy at the right price at all times? Is it best to buy from growers or from negociants?
We have had dinners with experts such as Faiveley and Leflaive, never forgetting of course the late Paul Bouchard, but on a more fundamental level how do we begin to understand this area and its wines? During our evening we will contrast the “same” wines from different growers, and we will work up the quality scale towards some great names and we will accompany these wines with a fine Burgundian menu.
Being from a Burgundy family, and having been passionate about the area and its wines over the last three decades, I will be unravelling some of the mysteries behind one of the greatest wine producing regions of the world.
Sunday 10th July: Mid-Summer Lunch at the Moulin d’Audenfort
Our mid-summer “do” is going to be on Sunday 10th July – an informal four course lunch at the waterside mill hotel Le Moulin at Audenfort just outside Licques, 10 minutes from Ardres. As always we will start with a bubbly reception and then move on to five wines with our lunch. I will be talking about the wines as well as about what is going on in the world of wine at the moment. Tickets for the lunch will be 49€ (about £43 at today’s rate) and accommodation at around 55€ per room is available. It’s a good inexpensive day or weekend away. And it will be fun.
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News in the World of Wine
I am regularly asked as a wine writer and presenter to pass on to you my thoughts about what appears to be happening in the global wine market.
I can update you on some of the old favourites about which I’ve written here previously.
In Champagne an organic grower, with whom we shall be working from the Spring, tells me that 2010 has not been at all easy in the vineyards. Spring was very dry and there was no mildew, one of the greatest enemies of the vine. In fact everything was looking good until mid-August when two and a half months’ worth of rain fell in one week. Harvesting finished around the 20th September and as a consequence of the rain, there had to be much “selection”, making sure to exclude any rotten grapes: a time-consuming and expensive process. The final yield was very low.
He goes on to say “However, the fermentation went very well and it smells great so far out of the barrels, probably the result of our careful selection at picking. It is showing a very "clean" taste with low pH and good fruit concentration, so it seems that there are no flavour deviations at all. We'll see from parcel to parcel, if we can work on a vintage or not. Now waiting for the pruning season, our team tops up the barrels, ploughs the vineyards, and prepares all the orders for Christmas.”
If you had a cool 450 million euros to spend, you could put in an offer to buy two Champagne Houses, Piper Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck, which are being sold off by drinks group Remy Cointreau after 20 years of ownership.
You may recall I wrote back in February about Rémy Cointreau laying off 25% of the Piper staff, so as to get its costs back into line with its reduced sales, and to restore profitability. Strike action followed. These houses have been losing money over many years, by contrast with the spirit brands of the parent company.
It seems likely that the two Houses will be sold off together and possible suitors include Pernod Ricard (who already own Mumm and Perrier-Jouet) or Diageo (which appears to be close to taking over Moet-Hennessy), or maybe it will be a private equity fund. A conclusion is expected within weeks.
After years of froth and bubble about British drink regulations, it appears that something is finally going to be done, especially in relation to the selling of alcohol below cost in the UK. As mentioned here a couple of months ago, rather than trying to tackle the thorny issue of what defines cost, it seems that the government is looking at minimum pricing to include just the cost of the duty and VAT – a minimum of £2 per bottle. Apparently there will also be a complete overhaul of the Licensing Act, and the government is said to be looking to hand more control back to local authorities.
You probably don’t need to be reminded but wine prices in the UK are set to rise by a further 2.5% from 1st January with the additional VAT. Yet again, this should make our Ardres business even more attractive to you – low French prices with next to no duty and lower VAT! The savings were already a minimum of £2 per bottle and often much more, especially higher up the price scale where you are not paying the additional margin taken by the importing agent.
Remember that according to HM Customs & Excise you can take back as much as you like, provided that it’s for your personal consumption.
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Christmas and New Year Opening
- Before Christmas, the Ardres shop will be open as normal until 5pm on Thursday 23rd December.
- Between Christmas and the New Year, the Ardres shop will be open from 10am on the 29th to 6pm on the 31st December.
- After the New Year, the Ardres shop will reopen on Tuesday 4th January.
We will of course be delighted to see you whenever you choose to come within these dates!
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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.
We are of course specialists in French wine, but we have also become known for a short but good quality selection of spirits such as our Crème de Cassis (the best I have tasted in 38 years of being in the Trade), Crème de Framboise and Armagnacs as well as our velvety smooth Grande Champagne VSOP Cognac from Claude Thorin.
We have just added four new cognac producers to our list, and you will now find a selection of 15 brandies (Armagnac, Cognac and Marc) and we have Hors d’Ages, VSOPs, XOs and Vintages on our list. If you know your cognacs, you will know some of these great producers: Gauthier, Geffard, Jean Fillioux and Ragnaud-Sabourin. And for those who fancy a little extra self-indulgence, we also have a very special 1981 Hine, Bottled in 1999.
Each maintains a very high quality and offers wonderful value for money – generally speaking, these offer higher quality and better value than the commonly found brands.
And many of these are available for you to try when you come to the shop: yet another reason why you should come to Ardres soon!
Stocks
Inevitably our stocks rise and fall according to the season. If there is something that attracts your eye now, 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 when you want it.
We also have a range of wines in wooden boxes, making smart gifts. For example, we have jeroboams of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and Minervois in wooden boxes at very sensible prices.
We have wines from practically every corner of France, showing off the country’s huge diversity of styles; we have something for everyone who enjoys French wines. And always of course at the very low French prices!
Many of you tell us that we have the right wines at the right prices and that our offering is so much more exciting than the equivalent retail operation in Britain. We have found word of mouth to be our most powerful source of new customers and so, if you are happy with what we do, please help us by telling your wine (or cognac!) loving friends about us or you could refer them to our “Receive Monthly Newsletter” button on the home page of www.boursot.co.uk. We shall be very grateful to you.
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A Sparkling Offer for December
During December, we are pleased to be promoting the deliciously fruity but dry Réserve de Sours Brut Rosé sparkling wine from Chateau de Sours in Bordeaux. This month, you can buy 6 bottles for the price of 5, giving a very hot net price of 6,83€ (around £5.80 at today’s rate).
As always with our Offers, you can reserve your requirements for collection at a later date. Please let us know what you’d like on ardres@boursot.co.uk and receipt of your order will be acknowledged.
We hope to see you here again very shortly, whether it’s for our ever popular Petit Pont Réserve wines at under £3 a bottle or for a gorgeous Beaune Premier Cru at around £19 a bottle. What are you waiting for?
Thanks to your support, we have had a good year and our business continues to grow. I would like to thank you very much and may I wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
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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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