Newsletters
 February, 2011
Dear Customer,
I owe you an apology. January's newsletter was erroneously entitled "November" and I know of a couple of people who, assuming they had received it previously, binned it straight away. If you deleted it but would like to know what was going on in January, you can always go back to our archived newsletters, on the link above. I will try and get it right from now on!
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.
Do please contact me by phone or on guy@boursot.com to explore your options.
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 £25 for your car and all passengers Sundays to Fridays, or £29 on Saturdays.
In addition, SeaFrance is offering you a 36 hour return of just £35 (£40 for Saturdays) as a Boursot customer.
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.
In case you didn't know it already, I should also point out that Tesco clubcard points can be exchanged for Eurotunnel tickets.
With wine prices creeping up in the UK, this is a good time to save loads of money by coming to Ardres – as well as to escape the gloom descending over Britain! Ardres is such an easy and great escape!
back to top
Boursot's Hotel Offer
As you may know, 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. We hope you will find this helpful.
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 partying 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, through 2011 you will continue to receive 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 of course 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 that you mention Boursot's Wine Collection!
back to top
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 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 our advantageous deals with SeaFrance 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.
back to top
Forthcoming Boursot Events
All our lunches and dinners are of course held in English. Vegetarian and alternative food options can of course 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.
Saturday 26th March: Grande Champagne Cognac with Maison Jean Fillioux at Le Cygne Restaurant, Saint-Omer
This will be a fascinating and unusual evening! Bring a couple of chums – it should be fun!
Our dinner will be in the vaulted cellar of Saint-Omer's finest restaurant, Le Cygne. A member of the cognac producing Fillioux family will be with us for our dinner. This evening will illuminate you as to how cognac is made, what makes it unique and we will of course compare a few examples of old cognacs.
We will start with a glass of the local Pineau des Charentes wine and then our wines will be served through the dinner. At the end of the meal, Madame Fillioux will tell us about the Cognac region and we will enjoy a selection of old cognacs from this top quality family producer that was established in 1880. These cognacs are in a different and far better league than the major brands that can be found commonly on the market; they are also much less expensive!
The pretty town of Saint-Omer has a number of bars and restaurants around the main square, as well as a beautiful cathedral, and is a great destination. We will also be happy to point you towards various local hotels - within easy walking distance!
Tickets for the dinner are 89€ all inclusive (about £74 at today's rate).
Saturday 14th May: A Fundamental Guide to Burgundy by Guy Boursot. Hostellerie de 3 Mousquetaires, Aire-sur-la-Lys
Burgundy is one of France's most confusing viticultural areas. It produces highly sought exquisite wines from Pinot Noir for its reds and from Chardonnay for its whites - 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 négociants?
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 can we begin to understand this area and get the best from its wines? During our evening we will contrast the "same" wines from different growers, and we will then work up the quality scale towards some great names and we will accompany these wines with a fine four course menu.
Being from a Burgundy family, and knowing the area and its wines well, I will be unravelling some of the mysteries behind one of the greatest wine producing regions of the world.
The Hostellerie 3 Mousquetaires changed hands six months ago and refurbishments are almost complete. We hear good reports that the restaurant has been restored to its former quality. www.hostelleriedes3mousquetaires.com
Tickets for this dinner will be 69€ (about £57 at today's rate) all-inclusive. Accommodation is also available at a specially reduced rate of 120€ (from 150€) per couple.
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 usual 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.
There will of course be several other dinners held during 2011 and as soon as we are able to confirm details to you, we will.
back to top
News in the World of Wine
You often ask me as a wine writer and presenter to tell you my thoughts about what appears to be happening in the global wine market. January and February are normally quiet months!
I was curious to see the New Zealand Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative is celebrating the rapid expansion in sales of its wine closures. Of the seven billion wine bottles sealed worldwide annually, the NZSWSI suggests the number using screwcaps has grown from an estimated 100 million ten years ago to almost three billion this year. As I have said here previously, the bottle closures market is huge business and arguments continue about the pros and cons of different types of bottle closure, whether they be of cork, plastic or metal.
I was then intrigued to read of one of South Africa's top vineyards, Klein Constantia, which has decided to return to using natural cork for its wine for fear of the wine developing sulphide characteristics under screwcap. The winemaker's belief is that whilst cork was to blame for many wine faults a few years ago, the cork industry has now improved its quality and now provides a reliable bottle closure.
The debate rumbles on about natural cork versus man made, as well as the degree to which micro-oxygen transfer through such closures is important to the development of quality wines. There is much at stake and we can expect to hear many more arguments yet.
We have long been talking here about the rise of the Asian, and especially the Chinese, market. Imported wine counts for a mere 10% of the wine market in China, having risen from almost nothing. Apparently the current demand is for red wines, then French, then Bordeaux, or anything that sports anything like a château label!
For the first time, the Chinese government has invested directly in Bordeaux vines by buying the Lalande-de-Pomerol estate, Chateau Viaud. At the same time it has acquired distribution rights for a handful of other Bordeaux chateaux. The investment has been made through the state-owned Cofco, a leading player in the booming Chinese viticulture sector, notably with its wine brand "Great Wall".
The Chinese ongoing passion for what I call the "L" factor (Lafite, Latour etc) seemed to be demonstrated when a Chinese billionaire recently completed his purchase of a dormant 18th century Bordeaux estate called Château Chenu-Lafitte in the Cotes de Bourg area as a gift for his 20 year old son. Another property, Château Latour-Laguens was bought by a Chinese company in 2008. Hmmm, are there going to be some interesting cases of "passing off" in China in a few years' time?
It seems that not only do the Chinese want to have the wine but they also want to own the producers as well!
While Champagne's sales volume problems have been lifted thanks to increased promotional activity last year, the producers are now moving to restore some profitability. 2011 is seeing some price increases averaging 3%. For the moment, we are holding on to our prices of last year.
We are also beginning to see price rises from the smaller harvests of 2010. As intimated here previously, most growers are being very cautious and are only increasing their prices to cover their needs. However, I heard of one Rhone grower who, having just received top marks from Robert Parker, has announced that her prices are tripling! No comment.
Remember: according to HM Customs & Excise you can take back as much wine as you like from mainland Europe 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.
back to top
Boursot's New List - and Coffee
You can always see our latest list on this link and if you would like to print it, it's available on this link.
As you may have known, we torrefy (roast) our Columbian Coffee beans in the Ardres shop. Having upgraded our power supply, our machine is now back in full production so that you will once again find that lovely aroma in the shop as well as a plentiful supply of freshly roasted coffee beans, which can be ground to your specifications – for cafetière, percolator or espresso machine. You should try a 250 gram pack when next you come.
back to top
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 jeroboams and imperials of Bordeaux, Champagne and Minervois in wooden boxes at very sensible prices.
Many people tell us that we have good wines at the right prices and that our offering is so much more exciting and wide ranging than the equivalent retail operation in Britain. This is what I aimed to achieve all those years ago. We do not advertise, but have found that your word of mouth is our most powerful source of new customers and so, if you are happy with what we do, please help us by telling your wine 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.
back to top
Our Offer for February
This month, we are reducing the price on a pair of high quality wines that you should snap up if you are entertaining this year. Their quality and value are undeniable.
White Burgundy, Mercurey, Clos Rochette, Faiveley, 2007 - Reduced from 15,20€ to 14,00€ (around £11.90)
This is a top quality white Burgundy. Most of the wine produced around the village of Mercurey in southern Burgundy is red, and I would say that it is that much more difficult to find good white Mercurey.
You will find this to be an exceptional wine made from 30 year old vines and it compares very favourably with more famous "cousins" made from the same grape, the chardonnay, a few miles further north around Beaune. Faiveley is well known for making excellent quality wines.
As the name might imply, Clos Rochette indicates an enclosed vineyard with a soil comprising small chalky rocks, which have imparted a minerality in the wine's style, not unlike a good Chablis. The wine has then been aged in new oak casks and the end result is a lovely complex mixture of aromas and flavours. This is a great wine for your next great occasion.
Claret, Chateau Tour du Pas Saint-Georges, Saint-Georges Saint-Emilion, 2006 - Reduced from 11,20€ to 10,00€ (around £8.50)
As you might guess, Saint-Georges Saint-Emilion is very close to the famous village of Saint-Emilion. What makes this wine exceptional is the fact that it is made by the previous winemaker at Château Ausone, one of the very best and most expensive wines from this village. As soon as you smell it, you will see that there is something very different and special about this wine, and once again, we can prove to you here that with our help you can go "off piste" a little and you can enjoy wines that are arguably better yet cheaper than the wines with "the name".
Made from 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a predominantly fruity style of Saint-Emilion, although it still has a streak of tannin which will help it to improve over the next couple of years.
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.
And 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 soon, whether it's for our delicious and easy to enjoy Petit Pont Réserve wines at around £2.90 a bottle or whether it's for something more elaborate for your special dinner parties. We have them all.
back to top
With all best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
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
| 
