Newsletters
 October, 2008
Dear Customer,
Our newsletters are unfashionably verbose, so if you prefer to flick to a particular topic, the main headings are below.
Low Prices and Great Value - and Oz Clarke on Boursot’s Wine Collection
People are looking increasingly for good value in these trying times and this is one reason why many people come to Ardres, knowing that they receive good reliable wines with huge savings over the prices charged in the UK.
Come on one of our free day return crossings (as detailed below) and enjoy a complete change of pace and scenery, and stock up on reliably good wines at our low French prices starting at the equivalent of just £2.40 per bottle. At the same time you can stock up locally on washing powder, cheeses, chocolate, jams, coffee, mineral water, spirits, diesel and so many of the other things (even car servicing!) that are apparently less expensive than they are in the UK. According to www.daytripper.net’s editor, David Ash, who continues to compare prices and value between the two countries, France also offers greater variety and better quality. Even a three course lunch in Ardres can cost you only 15 euros! Put it all together and you have one heck of a good deal!
Oz Clarke came to Boursot’s Wine Collection last week where he and I jointly tutored a tasting of nine of our wines. While talking about Boursot’s, he confirmed that your trip to France “is going to be so much more enjoyable if you go just a little bit further away from Calais and start talking to individual people” referring, of course, to your favourite wine shop here in Ardres. You can see his clip here.
Oz appeared to be enraptured by the pretty town of Ardres and specifically highlighted two of our wines. Click here to see a clip of his day’s resumé and to find out what these wines were! At the end of the day, he summed up saying “that’s a good day out!”.
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Cross Channel Offers
As a Boursot’s Wine Collection customer, until 19th December your special Day Return fare for a car and 5 passengers with SeaFrance will be £23 from Sundays to Fridays and £30 on Saturdays. To take advantage, you can get these special prices only by calling the Ferry Travel Club on 0870 264 2644 and quoting our code “Boursot”. If you wish to come for longer, or to add accommodation to your package, do call that number and the helpful staff should be able to quote you a competitive all-in price.
Also during October, we are pleased to continue our Offer whereby if you spend more than 600 euros here, we will pay for your day return crossing. Please call or e-mail us to find out how to take advantage of this Offer.
We are a small company and need all the help we can get, so if you feel that these offers could be of interest to any of your friends or colleagues who might be planning a wedding or large party, do please help them, and us, by passing on our details.
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Our Upcoming Events
The Anniversary Weekend on 11th-12th October 2008
The weekend programme will start on the Saturday morning (11.30ish) at the Hotel Clément in Ardres with a Wine Masterclass given by me on how to taste, how to identify faults with wine and general chat about what’s happening currently in the wine world. We also normally taste two reds and two whites.
There will also be a tasting of a wide range of our wines in the shop from 11 - 5: free of charge.
From 2.30pm there will be conducted tours of historic Ardres on foot which last about an hour. These tours will be free of charge to you as a customer. Ardres has plenty of history with its Roman origins and later as a meeting place between the kings Henry VIII and François I. Ardres has a fine 17th century church complete with beautiful stained glass windows, and much other architecture dating from the 17th century. There are also underground silos and bastions, as well as recreational lakes, and our tours are designed to explain a little of the history about this famously beautiful town of the north of France.
Anniversary Gourmet Dinner with Patrick Leflaive at Hotel l’Atlantic, Wimereux
Alain Delpierre chef patron of the Atlantic has recently been promoted to be one of the few Maitre Cuisiniers of France, and so we should be assured of a first class dinner! He is also about to launch an Ecole de Cuisine which may be of interest to some of you.
Our Guest Speaker at this dinner will be the chairman and co-founder of the major Burgundy house, Olivier Leflaive based in the village of Puligny-Montrachet.
Patrick, brother of Olivier, Leflaive is an erudite and entertaining speaker (in English of course!). From their launch in 1984, Olivier and Patrick have grown their company to a volume of 800,000 bottles across 40 major markets around the world. In addition, the company Olivier Leflaive Frères is set to increase its top quality portfolio by buying more vineyards in Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru, Les Folatières; Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru; Bienvenues-Bâtard Grand Cru and Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Olivier Leflaive is a success story and I shall encourage Patrick to talk about his company’s development over the last 20 years to it being one of the most respected names in the Burgundy marketplace.
Some tickets are still available at 110 euros per person to include 5 courses, all wines, water, coffee and entertainment! This represents exceptional value for a dinner that would typically cost you around £175 in the UK.
Saturday 8 November: Gourmet Dinner at Restaurant Le Channel, Calais
Robin Butler, the world's leading dealer in antiques for the wine enthusiast, will be talking about the role of wine accessories as part of the overall enjoyment of wine.
We may be assured of a wonderful and highly entertaining evening at arguably Calais' finest restaurant, and Robin will be bringing some examples to illustrate his talk.
Tickets: 90 euros per person to include 4 courses, all wines, water, coffee and entertainment!
Sunday 14 December: Christmas Market in Ardres. Informal Sunday Lunch at Hotel Clément
Christmas in Europe! The Ardres market with all its stalls starts on the Sunday morning and when darkness falls, you can see Père Noël abseiling down the church!
Speaker: Guy Boursot
Tickets: 49 euros per person to include 4 courses, all wines, water, coffee and entertainment!
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Email addresses
It appears that some people might have e-mailed us over the last few weeks and unusually not received a response. Two of our e-mail addresses wine.consultants@tiscali.fr and guy.boursot@tiscali.fr have been changed as a result of the merger between Tiscali and Alice and so now read: wine.consultants@aliceadsl.fr and guy.boursot@aliceadsl.fr.
If you have sent an e-mail and not received a response, please do re-send your e-mail to us on one of these new addresses.
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October Offer
During October we are reducing the prices on the following wines. This is a genuine Offer, not a mass retailer “Offer” of making up a price and “discounting” off it. Each wine is delicious to enjoy now, and we would urge you to take advantage of this Offer by reserving your stocks now.
CHAMPAGNE |
Charles Barr, Brut Champagne
A perfectly good Champagne at a reasonable price and made in Reims the capital of Champagne. This is
“Brut” or dry, and is the answer for those who want a decent, reliable Champagne at a really good price.
| SPECIAL PURCHASE | €15,90 | £12.70 |
Saint-Réol, Brut Rosé
One of the finest pink champagnes available on today’s market, and at such a reasonable price. This is
original and better than many well-known names! Dry but full of soft red fruit flavours. Fabulous.
With champagne prices on the move upwards again, this is the time to stock up.
| €23,10 | €21,50 | £17.20 |
WHITE WINES |
Pinot Blanc, Cuvée Traditionnelle, Robert Faller et Fils (Alsace), 2006
A refreshing dry wine with a grapey softness on the nose and in the mouth. Lovely and easy to appreciate
chilled, either by itself or with lighter food. It’s especially good and versatile when served at large
occasions such as weddings.
| €6,70 | €6,40 | £5.10 |
Ménétou-Salon, Le Prieure de Saint-Céols (Loire), 2006
Ménétou made its name some years ago as the less well known neighbour to Sancerre at a lesser price.
Nowadays Ménétou wines can be of about the same price so they need to have the quality to support
this status. This excellent example is crisp and fresh and still represents exceptional value.
| €9,30 | €8,90 | £7.10 |
RED WINES |
Brouilly, Domaine de Chêne (Beaujolais), 2006
Smooth, juicy and very fruity Beaujolais made from the Gamay grape. An easy drinking fruity
red wine of high quality - delicious. Serve at room temperature or slightly cooled.
| €7,40 | €6,90 | £5.50 |
Ménétou-Salon Rouge, Le Prieure de Saint-Céols (Loire), 2006
2006 in the Loire enabled this vineyard to produce an exceptionally good wine from its Pinot Noir.
With a delightful mid-weight Pinot Noir character, this offers excellent value as it is pretty much
indistinguishable from a high quality red Burgundy. Fabulous.
| €10,00 | €9,50 | £7.60 |
All wines are offered on a first-come, first served basis, and subject to availability
As always we charge in euros. The sterling price is simply a guide, at £ = 1.25 and rounded to the nearest 10p
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There will be a fuller newsletter next month.
With kind regards
Guy
Guy Boursot
Wine Consultants SARL
Boursot’s Wine Collection
9 Rue de l’Arsenal
62610 ARDRES, France
Tel: +33 321 36 81 46
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