Newsletters
 January, 2011
Dear Customer,
Bonjour!
May I wish you a very Happy New Year and I hope that 2011 will prove to be a peaceful year for you.
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.
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.
So you have no excuse for not making it across to stock up on decent wines at our low French prices!
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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!
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Your Own Events here 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, 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.
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.
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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 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 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 fun 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 Tilques 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, 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 I’d like to think that 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! 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. Our wines will be served during dinner and then at the end of the meal we will appreciate a selection of cognacs from this top quality family producer that was established in 1880.
A member of the 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.
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 always worth visiting. 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. Local venue to be arranged
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 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 can 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.
Whilst the venue is still to be confirmed, we will hold this dinner in one of our high quality local restaurants. Tickets for this dinner will be 69€ (about £57 at today’s rate) all-inclusive.
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.
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.
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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.
The drought conditions in the south of France continue to be an issue and in 2010 significantly smaller yields were harvested. Areas such as Burgundy also suffered from coulure (poor setting of the grapes after the vines’ flowering) so it looks as if 2011 will see some price increases, although most French growers remain cautious about how much cost increase they can pass on in a market that is still sensitive.
Burgundy has always been known as an expensive area in which to buy land and it is rare that a sizeable plot even comes on to the open market. A group of investors headed by New York sommelier Robert Bohr has just paid 12.3m euros for seven hectares of vineyards in Meursault, and this group will lease the land to two famous winemakers of the region, Domaine Roulot and Domaine Lafon. I wonder what type of return the investors are looking for!
In the face of "challenging market conditions" Constellation Brands has agreed to sell off its wine businesses in Australia and South Africa, as well as 50% of its UK wholesaling arm, Matthew Clark. Wine brands to be sold off include Banrock Station, Hardys and Kumala. The sale to an Australian private equity company is expected to be completed at the end of January and in the meantime Constellation says it is looking to grow its wine operations in California, Canada and New Zealand.
There are a few disturbing noises coming from the "new" Oddbins which was born around 18 months ago. The company has better wines than it has had for a long time and more focus, but the company seems to be dogged by arguments over ownership of the brand name and how much it might still owe to its former owners.
So, of course VAT in Britain has now gone up by 2.5% and the next duty rise is within sight in the next couple of months. You hardly need to be reminded that here in France there is (almost) no duty at just over a penny per bottle, as opposed to the UK’s £1.50 per bottle, pre-VAT, meaning that the savings in Ardres are a minimum of £2 per bottle by the time you have also included the retailer’s margin on this additional cost. Whilst many people argue that this is only important at the bottom end of the market where duty is such a major proportion of the price, in fact the savings in France can be even greater the higher up the price scale you go, as in the UK you would also be paying the additional margin taken by the importing agent.
Remember: according to HM Customs & Excise you can take back as much as you like from mainland Europe to England, 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.
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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.
I would like to highlight the fact that not only have we developed a good reputation for being specialists in French wine at inexpensive prices, but we are now also becoming 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 recently 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.
These offer higher quality and much better value than the commonly found brands.
If cognac is your passion, then you should definitely aim to get to our Gourmet Dinner on Saturday 26th March at the excellent Le Cygne restaurant in Saint-Omer when we will be entertained by Madame Fillioux, proprietor of one of the greatest names in the Grande Champagne area of Cognac, Maison Jean Fillioux. Fear not, we will not be drinking cognac with each course but will only enjoy her products at the end of the evening!
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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 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.
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Our Offer for January
The new year sees us giving some air to three wines:-
Chateau d’Antugnac, Limoux, 2008 - Reduced from 9,40€ to 8,50€ (around £7.10)
This gorgeous white arrived here relatively recently. It is a Chardonnay from Limoux, the region in southern France that is perhaps best known for its production of sparkling wines. The wine has been fermented in oak casks but, before you hold your hands up in horror, it does not taste oaky in that Australian or Californian way. The wine is fresh and has beautiful exotic fruit flavours – and more than anything else it is well-balanced, meaning that you have several different sensations running through your mouth. This is a very classy and exciting wine - and it reminds me of an expensive white Burgundy but without the price tag - I strongly recommend it.
Rasteau, Domaine des Escaravailles, 2009 - Reduced from 7,30€ to 6,80€ (around £5.70)
You may have already discovered this gem, either from our list or from the winemaker dinner last year with Gilles Ferran. Rasteau is the name of the village in the southern Rhone, close to Gigondas, where Gilles makes a selection of red and white wines which are of amazing quality and which still offer great value, despite having been discovered by a certain Robert Parker in the USA! 2009 is probably the best of recent years and the wine is absolutely full of soft luscious but spicy fruit from Escaraville’s Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre vines grown at an unusually high altitude of 400 metres. This wine will last and last.
Charles de Fère, Chardonnay Brut sparkling wine - Reduced from 6,40€ to 5,50€ (around £4.60)
This is an understated wine. Crémant de Bourgogne has to contain Pinot Noir and Chardonnay so this, being made from 100% Chardonnay, can only call itself a "sparkling" wine made in Burgundy by the traditional (champagne) method! This dry wine has plenty of flavour whilst retaining a soft and elegant style. It does not have the acidity that you can find in other cheap sparkling wines and if you didn’t want to mix it with something else, it makes a really enjoyable and great value glass of bubbly on its own!
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.
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 a gorgeous Beaune Premier Cru at around £19 a bottle or for our ever popular Petit Pont Réserve wines at just £2.90 a bottle.
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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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