Newsletters
 September, 2008
Dear Customer,
Our newsletters are unfashionably verbose, so if you prefer to flick to a particular topic, the main headings are below.
If you listen to the barrage of negative reporting in the media, you could well be forgiven for feeling that the world is about to implode. So for a change of scenery and tempo, I suggest that you need to get away to France for the day! It may be just 20 odd miles across the channel but it’s a million miles away in terms of culture! It’s so easy and it’s a good break.
Through our Cross Channel Offers below you can get very inexpensive, or free, day returns - you can come to Boursot’s Wine Collection in the pretty town of Ardres where you can taste and buy guaranteed quality wines with enormous savings over UK prices. As you probably know, there is a wide variety of restaurants in Ardres where you can enjoy 3 courses for around £15 in one of Ardres’ lakeside restaurants, through to the gastronomic delights of one of the very best restaurants of the region: the François Premier opposite our shop.
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 September, 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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Prices
Our new September Wine List is visible on this link or printable on this link. Whilst there have been no price adjustments, the exchange rate has been adjusted for the sterling equivalent guide price.
With negligible duty rates in France, our prices start at the current equivalent of just £2.40 per bottle for our delicious red, white and rosé Petit Pont wines, all the way through to over £100 per bottle, so there is always something here for everybody. All the wines are good in their own different ways – it’s simply down to your personal taste.
“Excellent value”, “amazing prices” and “super quality” are three of the most reassuring compliments that you have been passing to us regularly. Thank you: keep them coming!
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September Offer
During September 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, as this sort of Offer is unlikely to be repeated this side of Christmas.
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 |
Château Marie du Fou, Blanc, Fiefs Vendéens-Mareuil (Loire), 2007
A glorious barrel-fermented wine from the Vendée made from 70% Chenin Blanc and 30% Chardonnay.
This beautifully presented wine is light but full of grapey flavour with a remarkably long finish.
| €8,00 | €7,60 | £6.00 |
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 |
Bourgogne Chardonnay, Domaine Olivier Leflaive (Burgundy), 2004
A fine “minerally” style of chardonnay produced from grapes grown around the villages of Meursault
and Puligny-Montrachet and brought up under the masterly eye of the famous Olivier Leflaive. Not
at all the oaky style that many assume from that word “Chardonnay”!
| €9,50 | €8,90 | £7.20 |
RED WINES |
Fitou, Réserve Saint-Estève (Fitou), 2006
An easy drinking, slightly spicy red that is good with or without food. Best served an hour after opening.
| €4,10 | €3,70 | £3.00 |
Château Massamier la Mignarde, Tradition (Minervois), 2006
This domaine has received numerous accolades including Best Wine of the World in International Wine
Challenge’s category Syrah-Grenache-Mourvèdre! This wine made from Grenache, Carignan and Syrah
has a soft rich style but manages to remain fresh and has an aroma of red fruits. This can be enjoyed
now and over the next couple of years. Great value!
| €4,50 | €4,20 | £3.40 |
Côtes du Rhône, Les Antimagnes, Domaine des Escaravailles (Rhône), 2006
This top-of-the-range Côtes du Rhône is made from low yielding 70% 60 year old Grenache and 30%
30 year old Syrah vines – different and rather special. It’s also understated, being from the village of
Rasteau in an excellent year. Juicy fresh Grenache fruit, with some typical Rhône spiciness.
| €6,70 | €6.40 | £5.10 |
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 exceptional value as it is pretty much
indistinguishable from a high quality red Burgundy.
| €10,00 | €9,50 | £7.60 |
All wines are offered on a first-come, first served basis, subject to availability
We charge in euros. The sterling price is simply a guide, at £ = 1.25 and rounded to the nearest 10p
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Wine News
The harvests around France are commencing and conversations with growers around France reveal that the harvests are generally a little late this year, owing to mixed weather this year (that’s an understatement!). It seems that in wine terms 2008 will not be a “great year” – we have all felt some of the reasons why: the lack of sunshine, frost, rain, hail – etc, etc!
Hail has been the major problem this year, leading for example to a loss of 65% of the Muscadet crop, 40% of Pouilly Fumé, 10% of Burgundy and 10% of Sancerre to name but a few areas.
In total apparently the French crop is expected to be around 5% down in volume on 2007 – but more significantly, about 20% down on previous average yields. This is due to the combination of continued uprooting of vineyards in line with EU proposals (at a rate of 14,000 hectares of vines per year), and the weather conditions of 2008. First there was widespread frost in April, just at the vital moment when the vines’ were budding. Then there was dampness when there should have been sunshine and dryness – causing mildew, rot and oidium among the grapes. This is a year when the role of the winemaker is going to be even more important, but there should be some areas such as Alsace, Burgundy and Champagne that should see some reasonable quality.
As written last month, Monty Waldin’s wine programme “Château Monty” has now started on Channel 4, in which this authoritative wine writer has apparently sunk his life savings into buying a vineyard in the south of France - and as if that weren’t enough, then converting it to the bio-dynamic method of wine production. It will be interesting to see how the story unfolds.
The troubled wine retailing chain Threshers has recently announced that it is cutting its range of products by 80% to just 1,000 lines. This is not good news for the high street and its shoppers, although no doubt it will further help the more niche wine merchants who have been enjoying relatively buoyant times by differentiating themselves from the supermarkets and mass wine retailers.
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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, probably given by me, on how to taste, how to identify faults with wine and general chat about the wine world. We also normally taste a couple of reds and a couple of whites.
There will also be a tasting of a wide range of our wines in the shop from 11 - 5: free of charge.
From 2.30 that afternoon, 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 – it was later a meeting place between the kings Henry VIII and François I. Ardres has 17th century architecture, a beautiful 17th century church complete with fine stained glass windows. There are also underground silos and bastions, as well as recreational lakes.
And that evening at our five-course Gourmet Dinner at the Hotel l'Atlantic in Wimereux, Patrick Leflaive, Managing Director of Olivier Leflaive Frères in Puligny-Montrachet, will be talking about Burgundy wines. The all-inclusive price will be 110 euros per person: nothing more to pay. It will be a superb evening.
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 and coffee.
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 and coffee.
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Wine Talks and Tastings
Don’t forget that if you have a wine society or perhaps a group of friends or work colleagues, we are available to present talks and tastings either in England or in France. These create good informal opportunities to get together, and the talks are always entertaining yet informative.
The costs of your running such events are minimal, as you can get 15 (yes, really!) tasting glasses to the bottle of wine. Prices start at just £8 per person, depending on the number of people attending. Further background information is available on this link and please call or e-mail to discuss your requirements or preferences.
In addition, many customers ask us to entertain their groups with a talk or a tasting here on our historic premises or in local restaurants over a meal. Being “locals” we can also help co-ordinate menus and bookings with local restaurants so that all you need to do is to turn up and enjoy!
Please ask – we are here to help.
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Delivery of our Wines to your Door
As announced in our last newsletter, we are now starting delivery of our wines to your door in the UK. Whilst the relevant web pages are being developed, please call or e-mail us for details of how you can have your favourite wines delivered.
We view this as a top-up service for your favourite wine requirements. Clearly the best, and most fun, way to buy continues to be to come here and stock up and you can take your purchases back to the UK at the very, very low, virtually duty-free French prices.
That’s it for this month. I look forward to seeing you here again very soon.
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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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