Newsletters
 May, 2013
Bonjour!
The main headings in this newsletter are shown below.
General
Today the euro rate is bobbing around 1.18 to the pound.
In case you didn’t know it already, before VAT the UK duty has just been raised to £2.00 per bottle of still wine and £2.56 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.
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 £0.03 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 3,10€ (around £2.60) 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
We have arranged for you as a Boursot customer a reduced fare with P&O until the end of 2013. For a day trip or overnight trip (meaning returning before midnight the following day), your return fare will be just £22. There is a small supplement of £3 for travelling on a Saturday.
The Afternoon Return Fare is £19. 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. Also accessible through the Offers page of our website, it’s always wise to book at least 24 hours in advance so as to take best advantage of this P&O offer. We hope you find this helpful.
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.
We are very fortunate to be in an area with several good eating establishments at all different price levels, so do ask us if you would like a recommendation.
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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You have probably seen our many wine-related gifts in the Ardres shop, ranging from USB flash drives disguised as corks, framed copies of our exclusive Nick Newman wine cartoons, 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!
These make great presents for wine lovers and you can order these for delivery within a few days through the link above via Grapes & Vines Gift Designs, our UK online wine-related gift boutique.
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.
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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.
Also 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.
Additionally we have been pleased to incorporate some vineyard visits for some groups as part of their overall trip. Typically a visit to Champagne going behind the scenes and meeting the producers involving two nights, two dinners, two lunches and all visits starts at around £350 per person. So do ask us if a visit to a vineyard area could be of interest for your group .
And finally, I am of course happy to travel to you to present wine related events to your groups or dinners, or simply to be your after-dinner speaker with a difference!
Do please contact me by phone or through my speaker website guy@boursot.com to explore your options.
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 8th June: A typical grower’s view of making wine in Burgundy presented by Jean-Luc Maldant at the Hotel Atlantic, Wimereux
This should be a wonderful evening at the Hotel Atlantic on the seafront at Wimereux.
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.
Monsieur Maldant will be presenting 6 great wines including some Premier Cru and Grand Cru white and red Burgundies from the Côte de Beaune to accompany the 5 course dinner. 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 are several hotels within easy walking distance, details of which we can give you.
For all this, the price is 89€ (about £76) per head which represents amazing value. Currently 50% of available tickets have been taken up.
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 informal lunch at 49€ (about £42) per person to include 4 courses, 6 wines and all entertainment.
Currently 20% of available tickets have been taken up.
Saturday 21st September: “The Complexity of Tannat” presented by Jacques Hauller of Domaine de Gensac at Les Trois Mousquetaires, Aire sur la Lys
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, almost Piedmontese in style, in the Madiran area. It is also said to be the (probably!) the most beneficial grape to your health!
Many of you have eulogised about the Tannat grape for its full scented and rich red wines and I could argue that Domaine de Gensac is among its best producers. If you do not know the grape, you may come to 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.
Domaine de Gensac also produces an excellent sparkling wine, some dry whites and a sweet white, which we will also be enjoying during this evening. With some great food provided by David, chef proprietor of the Michelin rated Three Musketeers, to match these exceptional Gers wines, we believe this will be one of our most memorable dinners. We suggest you book soon as we believe it is likely to sell out. Tickets are 74€ (around £62), all-inclusive as usual.
We have blocked off a number of bedrooms at the hotel so do please say if you would like us to give you a room from our allocation.
Currently 25% of available tickets have been taken up.
Saturday 19th October: Boursot’s Anniversary Dinner at Hotel Château Tilques with Richard Bampfield M.W.
Our Anniversary Weekend is always popular as it encompasses several different activities.
During the afternoon we will be hosting an informal tasting of some of our wines and another event, still to be organised, and in the evening our guest speaker over dinner at Hotel Château Tilques will be Richard Bampfield, one of the world’s 297 Masters of Wine. Richard has been involved with the ongoing tests between cork, plastic and screwcap closures that are being conducted at the great Château Margaux in Bordeaux. Identical wines have been bottled under these various closures, matured and then tasted; the results to date have been surprising whilst also being curiously inconclusive as to which is the “best” closure.
I asked Richard to talk about this, to which he responded that he might find it difficult to make corks and closures entertaining but he would certainly try! But he will also liven up his talk by discussing current trends such as the inexorable rise in the popularity of rosé, to name but one topic. It will be an enlightening but entertaining evening.
Tickets for our four course dinner and six wines and all entertainment are 84€ (around £72). We have blocked off a number of bedrooms at the hotel so do please say if you would like us to give you a room from our allocation.
Currently 10% of available tickets have been taken up.
You can book now for any event shown above. These are the intended event dates for the coming five months. We also have details of all our other events planned in 2013, so do ask us in case you wanted to check dates 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!
You will have seen me here opine about the proposed introduction of a minimum price on alcohol. The legal challenge from the Scottish Whisky Association and some European wine and spirit producers against the minimum pricing ruling was dismissed by the local Court of Session in Edinburgh. Now the case goes to appeal and I for one am expecting the challenge to be upheld. Whilst there may be talk about targeting alcohol related problems with additional tax, it is yet to be proven whether the level of taxation has any bearing on the habits of hardened drinkers.
I was interested to hear last week of Château de Sours “sacking of Majestic wines” which after 20 years and two million bottles of supply, could not have been a decision lightly taken. In speaking recently to the Bordeaux château’s owner, Martin Krajewski whom many of you met at one of our previous wine dinners, I established that with Majestic’s continued push for growth, the company has been dumbing down its selection. Some of our customers have expressed their disappointment with what was once a more interesting wine retailing brand. It comes back to the requirements of “public company” and “quality wine” – the two are not easily compatible. The big question to me was always why did Tim How step down as Majestic’s Chief Executive when he did two years ago? The media were told that it was “retirement” but he is still working – elsewhere!
Anyhow, net, despite Majestic’s so-called “wonderful deals” on the Château de Sours rosé, we can still sell you this wine at just 5,90€ - around half their previous price!
Having run a wine company that went public, as intimated above I do not put much faith in wine and public company in the same sentence! The most important aspect of running such a public company is of course to deliver a good return to investors, almost at the expense of the customers or suppliers. Public Relations are hugely important to such companies, many of whom have mastered the knack of being THE spokespeople if a journalist wants a comment on what is happening in their trade or industry. In the USA, the huge public company Constellation Brands has been through some fairly indifferent times through the years. Perhaps it was best known in the UK for taking over the wholesaler Matthew Clark as well as such producers as Robert Mondavi in California and BRL Hardy in Australia. Now Constellation’s shares have leapt by 40% and there is talk of a dividend payment – its first ever in 40 years as a public company. As so often, growth is expected to come not from wine but from flavoured spirits and, now, beer sales across the USA through Constellation’s new joint venture with Grupo Modelo a Mexican brewery with its rights to selling certain key beer brands. With forthcoming strong cashflow, it will be interesting to see the direction in which the company moves over the next five years.
It was music to my ears when I heard recently that scientists have found that champagne can help improve the memory. Apparently the phenolic compounds found in the black grapes, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, of champagne can help in the fight against brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Professor Spencer of Reading University told The Mail on Sunday “The results were dramatic. After rats consumed champagne regularly, there was a 200 per cent increase of proteins important for determining effective memory.” Professor Spencer now hopes to extend his experiment to humans, asking around 60 pensioners to drink Champagne for three years. It’s hard to imagine there will be a shortage of volunteers for this trial!
There is of course widespread belief that alcohol in moderation can be beneficial to temperament and health. Red wine in particular contains antioxidants – one 150 ml glass of red wine having the equivalent benefit of seven glasses of orange juice!
Sir Alex Ferguson has of course been in the news recently for his retirement but what has been less publicised has been his stated desire to spend £2m on a vineyard in the south of France. It seems that even to Sir Alex, Bordeaux is now outside his grasp, owing to keen interest from investment-savvy purchasers such as the Chinese. One thing can be for sure, his vineyard will produce red wine!
The annual en primeur tastings in Bordeaux are aimed at journalists and trade buyers to show off the potential style and quality of the product of the new grape harvest.
Yet again, we hear that the samples prepared for tastings are not uniformly produced, that is to say that some samples have their ageing accelerated so as to show better at these all-important tastings. It’s not that this is wrong, but some producers do and some do not produce “special” samples and tasters are not told if, and how, the samples have been treated. With important decisions being made about the wines’ future performances and therefore with so much gain at stake, anything but complete transparency should be discouraged in my view. Another feature that I find anachronistic is that producers wait for the journalists’ reactions before announcing their prices. I’m not sure that this can be sustained for much longer and feel that some fundamental changes to “The Bordeaux system” will come about over the next five years. Much of this will have been spurred on by the continuing Asian interest in the wines and properties of the region.
With the arrival of the 2012 harvest, the “first growth” Château Latour broke ranks this year and did not take part in the selling of en-primeurs, preferring to offer to customers wines that are more mature and by extension more expensive. There was an air of caution among other Bordeaux producers, but now that Latour’s absence has not been seen as upsetting the overall Bordeaux offering, I would not be surprised to hear of some more candidates for departing the traditional en-primeur system.
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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. There’s something in it.
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.
Having visited the quality vineyards over many years, I set up Over The Top Tours some years ago to share my experiences with groups of interested customers. 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, Rhône and the South West are all areas that we visit and where we have great contacts who are happy to greet and inform you, as well as invite you to taste a wide selection of their wines.
Fine dining is also included as it goes hand in hand with good wine.
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.
Ideal sized groups are between 12 and 26 adults and typically two nights away with all meals and visits start at around £350. We do all the planning and make the bookings so all you will need do is to come along and enjoy a thoroughly 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
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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.
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.
Perhaps the most “important” reappearance this month is that of the inexpensive claret Château Saint-Romans in 2010. We listed this wine some time ago and then there were problems at the supply end, so we switched to the Château Haut-Pingat in both 2009 and more recently 2010. However this wine was running so fast that our suppler wanted to move us on to the 2011 which in my view was not as good. In the meantime, I became aware that Saint-Romans was becoming available again, in the excellent 2010 and at a good price. So, we commend this excellent wine to you at around a fiver – which I think you’ll agree is an amazing price for a wine of such quality.
Domaine du Mignon has recently told us that its Hors d’Age Armagnac is in fact from the 1998 vintage. We also list their super 1978...
Returning wines this month:-
| | Muscat de Rivesaltes, Château de Corneilla, Vin Doux Naturel, 2012 | 8,90€ | £7.40 |
| Cabernet d’Anjou Rosé, Domaine de Matignon (Loire), 2012 | 5,40€ | £4.30 |
| Carignan, Etang des Colombes (Vin de Table) | 4,80€ | £4.00 |
| Château Saint-Romans, Bordeaux (Claret), 2010 | 5,90€ | £4.90 |
| Château Bel Air Augereau, Côtes de Bourg (Claret), 2009 | 6,30€ | £5.30 |
| Rivesaltes Tuilé (Rouge), Château de Corneilla, Vin Doux Naturel, 2000 | 12,80€ | £10.70 |
| Hors d’Age Armagnac, Domaine du Mignon, 42% | 34,90€ | £29.10 |
| Eau de Vie de Framboise, Grande Réserve, Robert Faller & Fils, 45% | 30,80€ | £25.00 |
| Eau de Vie de Poire Williams, Grande Réserve, Robert Faller & Fils, 45% | 30,80€ | £24.30 |
The colouring system, apart from the self-evident pink and red , is that green refers to white wine, and brown refers to spirits!
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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.
My colleagues and I 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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