Newsletters
 December, 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.
Bonjour!
As Christmas is approaching, I will keep this month’s newsletter short, simply conveying information that could be useful. To those of you who are new to this newsletter, it is not normally quite so concise!
General
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”.
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Boursot's Reduced Cross Channel Fares
We have a special favourable Boursot crossing rate with P&O for our customers. In addition, what P&O has done is to offer you 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. And if you should have a need, we can always 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 on P&O 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.
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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 be provided, as long as we receive ample advance notice. 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 26th January: Boursot’s “Blues Buster” Gourmet Afternoon and Dinner presented by David Wojtkowiak and Guy Boursot at Hotel Les Trois Mousquetaires, Aire sur la Lys
Last year’s Blues Buster event at the Three Musketeers was deemed to be so enjoyable that several people who came then have booked to come again this year! The event comprises a culinary class, a wine class and a Gourmet Dinner all rolled into a half day event.
The idea is not so much to be taught how to cook but to experience the kitchens of a Michelin starred restaurant and to pick up several useful culinary tips in the preparation of the dinner that you would come to enjoy that evening. This is tutored by David, chef proprietor of the hotel who speaks good English having cheffed at the Berkeley Hotel in London.
At the same time, there will be a wine masterclass during which you can taste and compare wines from several different areas across France and learn about what is going on behind the scenes in each of these areas and more generally with current global trends.
The price of the dinner is, as last year, 74€ (about £59) per person. The charge for both of the 90 minute classes is 35€ per person. We have blocked off bedrooms at the hotel, so please say if you would like to take up a room from our allocation. For this occasion they are giving a special rate of 120€ per double room plus 10€ per person for breakfast.
Just when you thought that winter couldn’t get any more grey and bleak at the end of January, here’s something to introduce a bit of colour and entertainment!
This event is 90% sold already so we suggest reserving your places as soon as you can.
Saturday 16th March: Boursot’s Dinner at Les Terrasses de l’Enclos, Boulogne Old Town
This is an attractive new venue for us in Boulogne’s Old Town. The cuisine here is good and for our dinner we have blocked off all 5 bedrooms in this charming Boulonnais townhouse, so if you’d like us to allocate you one of our rooms, please say so at the time of booking. Alternatively there is a wide variety of hotels in Boulogne within easy walking distance. First come, first served!
We hope to announce the theme of this dinner shortly. Despite this, the event is already 25% sold.
Saturday 1st June: A small grower’s view of making wine in Burgundy: Jean-Luc Maldant at a venue to be announced
The highly entertaining Jean-Luc Maldant produces several excellent red and white Burgundy wines. Based in the village of Chorey-lès-Beaune, he is without doubt a rising star and, for the moment, he is producing wines of good value. Listen to Monsieur Maldant talk about the trials and tribulations of life as a grower in Burgundy, where the vineyards are so fragmented that it is difficult to understand the area and its wines.
With a Burgundian theme to the menu, we expect this to be a popular evening and so will be booking a major venue for this evening which we believe will be a delight.
There will be several other dinners taking place between these dates and as soon as we have further information, we will bring it to you. You can book now for any event shown above.
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Twitter and TripAdvisor
Our Twitter address is @Boursots_Wine. Do please feel free to mention us and / or our wines if you are happy with what we do, and we will be pleased to retweet your comments to our own followers.
You may not have known that shopping experiences are included in TripAdvisor. So, again, if you are happy with what we do, please help us by telling others by posting your comments there.
Your positive input will be most gratefully received.
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Boursot's New List
You can always see Boursot’s latest list on this link and if you would like to print it, it’s available on this link. The list is updated monthly but In the event that you see a previous version of the price list, try pressing Ctrl and F5 simultaneously on your computer so as to refresh the page.
If there is something that attracts your eye now, that you’d like us to put on one side for you, just say and we’ll be happy to arrange it.
New items this month:-
| Château de Respide, Graves (Bordeaux), 2011 | 6,80€ | £5.40 |
| Piaffer, Domaine de Gensac, Élevé en Barrique (Gers), 2010 | 9,60€ | £7.60 |
| Château La Vieille Forge, Lalande de Pomerol (Claret), 2009 | 10,30€ | £8.10 |
| Solo, Domaine de Gensac (Gers), 2007 | 15,80€ | £12.40 |
In wooden casesChâteau Kirwan, 3ème cru Margaux (Claret), 1996 | 95,00€ | £74.80 |
In wooden casesChâteau Kirwan, 3ème cru Margaux (Claret), 2000 | 97,20€ | £76.50 |
In gift boxLouis Roederer, Brut Premier Champagne | 37,90€ | £29.80 |
| Cristal, Brut, Vintage 2005 Champagne In gift box | 148,50€ | £116.90 |
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Christmas and New Year Opening Times
Open as normal 10 to 6 MONDAY to SATURDAY up until Saturday 22nd December.
After Christmas the Ardres shop will be open again on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th December and then again as normal from Saturday 5th January 2013.
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 on ardres@boursot.co.uk if you should like to visit outside our normal opening hours; with a little advance notice, 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.
Thank you for all your support over the last 12 months – you will have seen that our stock levels have risen substantially whilst our selection has diversified even further. Times are good and that’s all thanks to you.
With all our best wishes for a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year
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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