Newsletters
 February, 2013
Bonjour!
The main headings in this newsletter are shown below.
General
Today the euro rate is bobbing around 1.16 to the pound and we have adjusted our price list to reflect some of the recent slight weakening of the pound against the euro. We hope to see the rate improve again soon and so are looking forward to being able to improve the sterling equivalent price.
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 now being £5.03, this means that around 60% of the cost of that bottle is now consumed in tax.
Unless something changes this year, the forthcoming Budget on 20th March will add even more tax (2% on top of inflation currently at 2.7% = 4.7% increase) to a bottle of wine bought in the UK.
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 - voiced 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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Boursot's Reduced Cross Channel Fares
Until the end of March, we have managed to get you an even further reduced fare with P&O. So, for a day trip or overnight trip (meaning returning before midnight the following day), your return fare until the end of March will be just £19.
From 1st April, our rates will revert to their normal rate of £22 for a day or overnight return.
Also reduced is the Afternoon Return Fare which goes down to £17 (£19 from 1st April). This means departure after midday and returning before midnight. So, after buying your wines in Ardres, you will also be able to fit in some fine dining!
These special rates are exclusive to Boursot's and apply to a car and up to 4 passengers and can be accessed through this link. As always, there may be some specific £5 supplement days 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.
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.
You may have seen that Eurotunnel has bought part of the old SeaFrance fleet. They are said to have smartened up the ships and they are leasing them to a (better behaved!) workers' group based in Calais. Myferrylink.com is the name of the new company and you can now find some attractive prices with them. You get no prizes for guessing their web address!
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Boursot's Hotel Offers
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 the Christmas period).
Many customers ask us if they should tip after restaurant meals in France. By law, restaurant bills already include a service charge ( "service compris ") so no-one should complain if you do not add more. Needless to say, if you feel you have received an exceptional experience, a modest addition would be welcomed. In busy pavement cafés, where the waiter brings your coffee etc to the table, a few coins up to 10% is normal.
If you are a "foodie " we are pleased to bring you our Special Offer from the 4 star Hostellerie de 3 Mousquetaires which is just 30 minutes' south of Ardres on the outskirts of Aire sur la Lys. Here you will enjoy a cosy atmosphere and fine cuisine as many of you have discovered already. Chef proprietor David Wojtkowiak worked at the Berkeley Hotel in London before setting up his own restaurants in northern France and so speaks good English.
This offer is available to you during the week but not at weekends. Normally a room for two would cost from 115€, breakfast 15€ per person and dinner typically 45€ per person: total 235€. The offer to Boursot's Wine Collection customers is an all-in price of dinner, bed and breakfast for two at 92€ per person. We have heard glowing reports from those of you who have taken up this Offer. When you book, you must mention Boursot's Wine Collection to get these special terms. You can call on +33 321 39 01 11 or there is a booking form on:
www.hostelleriedes3mousquetaires.com/fr/reservations.php
Also, 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. There are all sorts of wine related goodies - from USB flash drives disguised as corks, framed copies of our exclusive Nick Newman wine cartoons that you may have admired in the Ardres shop, natural wine soaps, wine map tea towels, silver tastevin cufflinks, claret jug decanters, electric corkscrews as well as many more wine accessories. A novel recent arrival is a chandelier made up of wine glasses! All these make great presents for wine lovers and you can order these online and the items will be delivered to you within a few days. Many of these items are also available to look at in our Ardres shop from where you can of course also 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 including some wine related ones written by some chap in Ardres.
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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, when planning your event, we would discuss your desired objectives and work backwards from there. We can liaise on your behalf with local restaurants and if required, hotels.
We use restaurants in and around Ardres that can happily accommodate your needs and provide good quality food at a sensible price, while we can provide our wines at shop prices with no cost of "corkage " to you. Typically a four course lunch or dinner works out at 27€ all-inclusive and six wines work out at 8€ per person.
Depending on whether you would like it, one of us 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.
We have recently restored the vaulted cellars under our shop so that you can now enjoy tastings, presentations or general events down there. If you should be interested in holding a tasting or other event for up to 35 people in our cellars, please say and we will be happy to reserve your space for you.
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 through my speaker website guy@boursot.com to explore your options.
The Last Boursot Event
Our Blues Buster dinner in that bleak time at the end of January has become a popular event. Combining culinary classes and wine classes, it is of course all tailored around enjoyment. To quote one happy customer "David is of course charm personified and his cookery course was fascinating. I would certainly make the pumpkin soup if I could track down the pumpkins (he couldn't believe that we rarely see them in this country except at Halloween and even went to see if he had one left over which unfortunately he did not), might try it with butternut squash. The most interesting things were the little tips, and I have successfully diced a shallot as shown even if at half speed, keeping my fingers intact too! Your wine talk was very interesting, you put across the information so well and with light and humorous touches which makes it most enjoyable. " (CA)
Thanks to popular demand, we shall be repeating the event next January in the cosy surroundings of Les Trois Mousquetaires at Aire sur la Lys.
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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. All our events are planned to be enjoyable, interesting and unstuffy.
Boursot's Wine Collection is usually open on the Sunday morning after a Saturday night dinner.
Saturday 16th March: Dinner at Les Terrasses de l'Enclos, Boulogne Old Town: "Surprising Wines! " presented by Guy Boursot
This charming townhouse in Boulogne's Old Town has good cuisine and makes a great additional venue for our dinners. Guy Boursot, as this evening's presenter, hopes to open your eyes to some wines that you might not otherwise have thought to try! There will also be entertaining talk about the current machinations in the wine world. It will be a good evening.
We have already filled all seven bedrooms at this venue, but there are several other inexpensive hotels within easy walking distance; for example the Hotel Ibis Cathédrale is within 3 minutes' easy walk.
The price of the 4 course and 6 wine dinner is 84€ (about £72) per person. Brighten up your March with a warm cosy evening in convivial company! There are still a few places available.
Saturday 13th April: Dinner and Theme to be arranged
The date of this dinner has been adjusted but the theme and venue still have to be arranged. Please let us know if you should be interested to hear more.
Saturday 8th June: A typical grower's view of making wine in Burgundy presented by Jean-Luc Maldant at the Hotel Atlantic, Wimereux
Please note that this event was last month shown here as being on 1st June - it has had to be changed.
The charismatic Jean-Luc Maldant produces several excellent red and white Burgundy wines. Based in the village of Chorey-lès-Beaune, he is a rising star and, for the moment, he is producing wines of high quality and great 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 often difficult to understand the area and its wines. Ask him what happens in a year such as 2012 where his, and others', production was reduced by 40% of the normal volume.
With a Burgundian twist to the menu, prepared by starred chefs Alain and Benjamin Delpierre at the famed Hotel Atlantic, we expect this to be a popular evening and so would encourage you to book early. There will be at least 4 courses and 6 great wines. The price is 89€ (about £76) per head to include everything. We have blocked off some rooms at the Atlantic so do please say if you would like to take one of our rooms from our allocation. There are also several other hotels within easy walking distance, details of which we can give you.
Sunday 7th July: Mid-Summer Lunch at the Moulin d'Audenfort presented by Guy Boursot
This is a fun 4 course lunch washed down with 6 good wines at an old rural waterside mill. Weather permitting, our reception will start with a glass of bubbly in the waterside gardens.
Over lunch I will talk everyone through the wines being served and then go on to talk about the latest developments in the emerging wine markets, as well as what is going on closer to home. We have booked a selection of bedrooms at the Moulin so you can stay the night before or the night after, or both - please let us know so that we can let you have a room from our allocation.
A great value lunch at 49€ (about £42) per person to include 4 courses, 6 wines and all entertainment.
Saturday 21st September: "The Complexity of Tannat " presented by Jacques Hauller of Domaine de Gensac at a Venue to be announced
This should be a popular event! Jacques Hauller is a rising star winemaker in the Gers area of south western France, working primarily with the Tannat grape, perhaps best known for producing rich red wine in the Madiran area. Some of you eulogise about this grape and the wines that it produces and we would argue that Domaine de Gensac is among the best producers. If you do not know the grape, you may be illuminated and allured by its charms!
Jacques will explain the process of growing Tannat and how to make wine from such a difficult grape. He will also explain what tannins are, how to tame them and the benefits of tannins to both the wine and your health.
This will be one of our most memorable dinners and we suggest you should book early as it is likely to sell out. Until we have confirmed a venue, it is difficult to be absolutely precise about the ticket price but it should be around the 74€ mark (around £62), all-inclusive as usual.
You can book now for any event shown above. These are the intended event dates for the coming six months. We also have details of all other dinners planned through 2013 in case you wanted to check these against your diary.
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Views on 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 is a collection of my latest thoughts!
Reports coming from the Beaujolais trade association say that as many as 50 (out of a total of 2,700) producers may be forced to close down owing to the 40% reduction in harvest yield in 2012. Whilst their annual maintenance and production costs have remained the same, several vineyards have not been able to produce enough to cover their costs. This is yet another reminder that Mother Nature still has a few tricks up her sleeve, even in our modern technological world.
In Bordeaux, unlike the châteaux of the Médoc which were last reclassified in 1855, the châteaux of Saint-Emilion are reclassified each 10 years for the coveted Grand Cru status. Following two years of court proceedings, the 2006 version was invalidated and was then replaced with a fresh version in 2012. But the latest review in September 2012 has already hit its first hurdle. Candidate properties are subjected to inspection of their vineyards, winemaking facilities and cellars and finally 10 vintages of each property's wines are tasted blind by an independent panel. These days it's hardly surprising that there is so much hue and cry when such potential economic loss or gain is at stake. Three châteaux have just filed a legal challenge which may, if allowed by the courts, yet again throw the Grand Cru classification system into disarray and another suspension. The grapes are turning sour - yet again!
Regarding total champagne shipments, I was surprised to learn of a significant decrease of 14 million bottles (on 2011's total of 323 million) during 2012. More surprising was that while the small growers had gained market share from the brands or "houses " in 2008/2009, customers appear to be returning to these houses, indicating perhaps a lack of confidence in drinking outside the norms. This hypothesis could be backed up a 3.2% / 1.9 million bottle increase to emerging economies where brands are important. The mature markets of Europe have suffered the most with a 7.1% fall in volume. As has happened regularly over the last 300 years, the champagne houses are at the leading edge of the wine business, establishing distribution in these emerging economies; indeed, LVMH's investment in Asia is colossal.
Talking of China, as one can hardly fail to do in a newsletter on the global wine situation, I am sometimes asked at my talks and tastings about whether China produces wine. Indeed the country has for centuries been producing reasonable, but not great, quality wines. Part of the problem was getting through the average worker's mentality of picking everything and leaving nothing to waste - which is not ideal for producing "great wine ". Recent years have seen the arrival of foreign winemaking expertise and massive new investment which have led to the opening up of new vineyards and improved quality wines which are set to hit the export markets in the near future. China is currently the world's fifth largest wine producing country.
China's largest producer, the state owned COFCO, has for many years been selling its branded "Great Wall " (a mere 10 million cases per year!) but it has just announced that it will now develop this brand through locally acquired wineries, meaning that there will be Australian Great Wall, Chilean Great Wall and French Great Wall. These will be sold on the domestic as well as on the global markets, so don't be surprised to see these hitting supermarket shelves from next year! The expectation is that once there has been an acceptance of "Chinese wine ", then finer Chinese wines will start to be exported. And there are plenty of those.
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Bio-Dynamic Calendar
As hard to comprehend as it all seems, so many top vineyards around the world are now practicing bio-dynamic viticulture that it is difficult to ignore this phenomenon. And about a year ago, researchers in Germany stated categorically that bio-dynamic wines do taste better than conventionally made wines. Whilst this may sound curious, you may be surprised to learn that most major British supermarket chains only show off their wines to the media on "Fruit " or "Flower " days! The other two elements "Root " and "Leaf " do not produce "bad " days as such, but you may find that your wines do not taste quite so open and fruity on those days.
On our home page at www.boursot.co.uk we show 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.
Treat our indicator as a bit of fun - and please tell us if you have noticed any difference between tasting the same wines on different element days!
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Wine Tourism
Whilst much of Europe has been relatively slow to catch on, nowadays France'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 might see you, increasingly many top domaines will only see you as part of an officially recognised group. In addition, many big producers have managed to dumb down their tours for tourists with absolutely no wine knowledge to such an extent that you would probably feel disappointed if you know anything about wine, as clearly you do. It is increasingly clear that you need a specialist to get you behind the doors that are closed to others.
So if you should like to visit one of France's viticultural areas, go to our vineyard tours company 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 you taste a wide selection of their wines.
We tailor 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 schedule and budget. We do all the planning and booking for you and our all-in prices are surprisingly reasonable (probably unbeatable!) - all you will need do is to come along and enjoy a memorable trip.
As a testimonial from one of our recent trips for 24 people to Burgundy, just take a look at this:
"People are still talking about the wine trip. Those that went have had great fun telling those that didn't just what they missed. The 49 wines tasted have somehow become 100 and the light lunches and dinners magnified out of all proportion. We must think about the next place to take them another year. " JM - June 2012
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Twitter and TripAdvisor
Our Twitter address is @Boursots_Wine. If you are pleased with the quality of our wines, do please feel free to Tweet your experience, and we will be pleased to retweet your comments to our own followers.
If you are particularly happy with what we do, please help us by telling others by posting your comments on TripAdvisor. This link will take you directly to the page. Your positive input will be most gratefully received.
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The Boursot Family History
As you probably know, I am fortunate enough to come from a very long family line in the wine business, passed from father to son continuously since the mid-16th century. Indeed it is one of the longest continuous family lines in the wine world.
I was very pleased to learn a few months ago that the historian Rodney Gilbert had taken the Boursot family as a project and presented it to an audience in Australia - a small but significant part of my family's wine history since the 18th century. Rodney Gilbert has extra-ordinary access to international historical records and with a keen eye to detail, he sent me a copy of his speech which took the theme "History captured in a 150 year old 1862 photo - The Boursot Family ". As an insight into European social history, I believe this makes a very "interesting read " on www.boursot.co.uk/boursot_history.html and I hope that you too might enjoy it.
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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.
We have brought in some stunning clarets from the excellent 2009 harvest. This is one of the great recent vintages in Bordeaux and in general I would characterise these wines as having masses of plump fruit with soft ripe tannins to enable the wines to mature over several years. Some particular stars are Châteaux Laroche Joubert in Côtes de Bourg, Labat in Médoc, Baret in Pessac-Léognan, Liversan in Haut-Médoc and Pontac-Lynch in Margaux. These are all wines you can buy with confidence to lay down but at the same time they have an immediately attractive richness of fruit that makes them enjoyable to drink now. They should also appreciate in value.
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:-
Apart from vintage updates, the following wines are new or have been brought back.
| Les Preuses, Grand Cru, Domaine Faiveley (Chablis), 2007 | 38,20€ | £31.80 |
Returning wines this month:-
| | Rully, Les Villeranges, Domaine Faiveley (Burgundy), 2011 | 12,90€ | £10.80 |
| Torus, Alain Brumont (Madiran), 2009 | 8,80€ | £7.30 |
| Rasteau, La Ponce, Domaine des Escaravailles (Rhône), 2010 | 13,20€ | £11.00 |
| Château Baret, Pessac-Léognan (Claret), 2009 | 17,30€ | £14.40 |
| Mercurey, Premier Cru, Clos des Myglands, Domaine Faiveley (Burgundy), 2006 | 18,40€ | £15.30 |
| Sancerre Rosé, Domaine Franck Millet (Loire), 2011 | 12,60€ | £10.50 |
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Boursot's Special Offer for February and March
Over the coming weeks, we are highlighting two really good honest wines from the Languedoc, often described as the most dynamic wine producing area of France.
Our Viognier from Domaine Etang des Colombes in the Corbières has now developed into a fine elegant yet flavoursome wine - if you like the rare Viognier grape, we feel this is a good honest example and you should really enjoy it.
The red "Nobilis " from Domaine de Lascours in the Pic Saint-Loup area will be delisted soon and so we are offering you the last chance to snap up this wine at a bargain price. The wine is 60% Syrah and is full, rich and flavoursome. We are delisting it as very soon we shall be bringing in a very attractive Pinot Noir at under 5€ and we feel it is time for a change.
As always, you can place your order now at this special price for collection at a later date. This Offer will run, stocks permitting, until our next newsletter.
| | Normal | March | Equiv. |
| Viognier, Domaine Etang des Colombes (Languedoc), 2011 | 7,90€ | 7,40€ | £6.20 |
| Château de Lascours, Nobilis, Pic Saint-Loup (Languedoc), 2010 | 6,40€ | 5,90€ | £4.90 |
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Stocks
As stated above, 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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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 your friends to our "Receive Monthly Newsletter " button on the home page of www.boursot.co.uk. Or mention us on TripAdvisor. 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; 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.
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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