Forthcoming Boursot Events
All our lunches and dinners are held in English.
Vegetarian and alternative food options can be arranged, provided 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 16th October: Boursot’s Anniversary
Weekend
Boursot’s Wine Collection, launched in 2006, celebrates its 4th
Anniversary this year and as always the Anniversary Weekend will involve
several enjoyable events.
During the Saturday afternoon there will be a Cheese and
Chocolate Tasting in our vaulted cellars: do you know your French
chocolates from your Belgian chocolates, or your Maroilles from your Pont
l’Evèque? Madame Dumont who runs the excellent delicatessen in Ardres
will be on hand to lead you through the various differences, and obviously she
will be very happy to supply you directly if you should wish to buy any
cheese or chocolates.
There will also be a Wine Tasting all afternoon in our
shop, from the cheaper end of the scale to some of the finer Grand Crus of
Burgundy or Saint-Emilion. Both the tastings will of course be
free of charge.
For those of you who are interested in the long history of
Ardres, there will also be conducted tours of underground Ardres (which
will be free of charge to you as a customer). To my knowledge
there is only one other town in the whole of France that has such historic
underground silos and bastions as can be found in Ardres.
Unless you have done so already, for planning purposes it would
be helpful to know if you would like to come to any of these events.
The Boursot’s Anniversary Dinner at the Hotel Atlantic in
Wimereux is sold out. Our guest speaker is journalist and broadcaster Simon
Hoggart. As you may remember, Simon was chairman of BBC Radio
4’s comedy show “The News Quiz” over 13 years, he writes the daily
Parliamentary Sketch column in the Guardian and he writes on wine in The
Spectator. What’s even more relevant is that he has recently
written “Life’s Too Short To Drink Cheap Wine” (and who could possibly
disagree with that?). We are assured an entertaining evening.
Saturday 6th November: An Audience with
Faiveley at Les Jardins de la Matelote
This is going to be an amazing event. The 185 year old
Burgundy house of Faiveley in Nuits Saint-Georges is one of the most
respected producers in Burgundy, and it has effected some big changes
recently.
In 1976 François Faiveley took over the reins of the company
from his father Guy and in so doing, he lowered vine yields and introduced
such revolutionary processes as a wind tunnel to dry grapes before they were
crushed. One could say that François brought in a more scientific
approach to the making of the wine that carried his family’s
name.
In December 2004, François handed over the running of the
company to his 25 year old son, Erwan who, after business school, worked in
Philadelphia and Paris. Inexperience has not appeared to be a hurdle
and Faiveley has recently acquired additional vineyards, new pressing and
fermenting equipment as well as a new source for its barrels. And to
help put together all these new ingredients, Faiveley has attracted one of
Burgundy’s top winemakers to make all their wines from their generic Burgundy
all the way up to their Grand Cru Cortons and Montrachets.
The transformation at the house has been impressive and has led
to wines with even more purity of fruit than previously and with softer
tannins. The interesting family story will be recounted to us on our
evening by Philippe Ochin, director of Faiveley in Nuits Saint-Georges.
He has agreed to introduce several of his “new” wines at a tasting before
dinner and may well surprise you by inverting the “rules” of tasting!
Burgundy is one of France’s most complex viticultural regions
but with Philippe’s help, you will come to understand and appreciate some of
its wines from one of Burgundy’s best producers. We expect this to be
one of our most enjoyable dinners yet held.
We will dine in the country manor Les Jardins de la Matelote,
just outside Boulogne which, as the name implies, belongs to the Michelin
starred La Matelote of Boulogne with the cuisine provided by chef owner Tony
Lestienne. Mr. Lestienne and I have spent some time discussing menus to
accompany our choice of fine Burgundies, and I am convinced that this will be
a first-class evening of excellent food and exceptional Burgundies.
The ticket price for this dinner will be just 89€ (around £73)
per person to include everything – a tasting of several Faiveley Burgundies,
a lavish 4 course dinner, 6 wines and all entertainment – in a most beautiful
setting.
At the nearby Hotel La Matelote in Boulogne, we have blocked off a number of
bedrooms and have arranged that you be upgraded to a superior room at a rate
of 125€ (around £102 at today’s rate) per double room, breakfast
included. There are also several other hotels in Boulogne and Wimereux
(which are 5 minutes apart from each other). Please let us know your
room requirement and we will liaise with the hotel on your behalf.
Sunday 12th December: Christmas Market Lunch at
Hotel Le Relais, Ardres
Our Christmas lunch is the fun highlight of the year. Last
year rather than spoon more people into the lunch, we had to turn people away
after the numbers got to 60, so this year if you would like to guarantee your
places, we suggest you let us know shortly. Currently we have a
few places remaining.
That morning, from 10am, the annual Turkey Festival will be held
about 20 minutes away in the village of Licques, and then I suggest you come
to the lunch and then “do” the Ardres Christmas Market in the afternoon, by
which time our spirits and the general atmosphere will have warmed up!
Père Noël is normally to be found abseiling down the church spire at around
6pm.
The lunch comprises four courses and six wines at a price of
just 49€ (around £40) per person all-inclusive. It is an inexpensive
fun day out and accommodation can of course be arranged for you in Ardres,
should you wish to stay over.
Saturday 29th January: Boursot’s “Blues Buster” Gourmet Dinner
“The Sheer Variety from Champagne” hosted by Guy Boursot
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 a location that is still to be selected.
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 available, 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 dinner will be just 89€ per person (about £73 at today’s
rate) to include for courses and six champagnes. There are no extras to
pay.
The hotel where we were hoping to have held this dinner has
declined the offer to receive us, because they are always busy on a Saturday
night, but I am investigating alternative cosy venues and will let you know.
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News in the World of Wine
It is always of interest to me as a wine writer and presenter to
observe and pass on to you what appears to be happening in the global wine
market.
Of course the news of the moment is the 2010 French harvest
which has started, albeit a little late, around many parts of the
country. Prolonged dryness has been a big problem this year, which may
well reduce some yields.
In Bordeaux, June and July were very hot and at one
stage, there were fears that these conditions might have produced another
year such as 2003 – a small crop producing super (over?) ripe wines with no
great potential longevity. But since then, the outlook has
improved and some growers are already feeling confident of (another) year of
high quality. Quite what happens to 2009 prices if 2010 produces
another “vintage of the decade” waits to be seen!
In Bordeaux, many of the whites are in already and the Sauvignon
in particular seems to have been very successful. The reds will
follow very shortly and there are some quietly confident expectations.
Whilst talking about Bordeaux and the crazy prices being asked
for the 2009 reds, it was the Chinese appetite for desirable commodities such
as well known “brands” of wine, the classed growth clarets, that enabled the
Bordelais to charge such exorbitant prices. As a result of such
high prices, not one French supermarket has yet bought any 2009 classed
growth claret and this has caused some consternation among sellers in
Bordeaux. This was previously unheard of, but who knows, perhaps
the larger volume 2009s will come down in price in a couple of years’ time.
Picking in the Loire started 10 days later than in 2009,
with the Sauvignons, mainly from around the eastern Loire, expected to start
on the 20th. The quality is expected to be good, close to
2008 in style, but with a little more acidity which bodes well for longer
term keeping. Prices are expected to remain stable.
In Burgundy, the grapes are in the last critical stages
of development before harvest. There have been warm days and cool
nights which should lead to a good quality. There has been light rain
but this has not caused any rot in the grapes. However, a small harvest
is expected as a result of some “coulure” earlier in the season, in which the
vines’ flowers and thereby fruit, failed to develop.
The Rhône of course divides into two distinct
viticultural regions – the north and the south. In parts of the south,
the crop has been halved owing to coulure. Whilst the whites are already
in the tanks, the harvesting of red grapes is starting now - a little
late. The quality of these reds is considered to be of very good
quality and thanks to an unusually cool August, 2010 may well turn out a
“classic” year. It will be good to see some wines that are not of such
blockbuster strength as we’ve seen in recent harvests.
The northern areas of Cornas, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph
have had the same problems as the south, but in addition many clusters of
grapes have been damaged by violent winds this year. In Côte-Rôtie and
Condrieu, there have been worries about oïdium, which is a type of mildew,
and coulure, so once again harvest volumes are expected to be reduced.
And in Alsace, depending on the final days of ripening in
September, quality is expected to be good
Although yields are going to be low, especially for Riesling.
Also I have written here previously about the wine glut all over
the world, but especially of that in Australia. The 2010
harvest may have proven to be a turning point for Australia: it was 12%
reduced in volume over its 2009 crop and at the same time, around 10,000
hectares of vines had been grubbed up over the previous 12
months. Supply is coming much closer to current demand.
Australian wine producers have recently agreed with the EU to stop
using on their labels European geographical names such as Champagne, Port,
Claret and Chablis. You may have thought that Champagne had been
protected universally but in fact the treaty of the early 1960s was signed by
all except Australia and the USA. However, as one well-known sparkling
wine maker in California told me some years ago, there was little chance of
any respectable producer using “Champagne” on his (American) label. The
treaty, whilst not being binding in the US and Australia, was respected among
quality winemakers.
Last November I wrote about the demise of the First
Quench group of 1,300 stores (Threshers, Wine Rack, The Local and Haddows ).
The best sites were snapped up quickly, either in clusters or individually,
by other independent wine retailers or former branch managers.
Of course I have always been a big fan of
independent retailers because their requirements are different to those of
the mass retailers. They (or should I say “we”?) need to
have happy punters walking out of their doors and returning time and time
again, so need to keep up the efforts. You will find interesting
“parcels” of wine and in general, you should get better value for money than
by shopping at a mass retailer who is more concerned about its margin and
price.
Whilst many of these acquisitions have been
very sound, I will not be surprised to see a number of these “new” shops
closing down over the next few months. I can think of some shops where
the new owner has paid scant regard to the most important requirement –
location. And even then, what is the point of offering the same tired
range that a shopper could more easily pick up at their local
supermarket? Independents need to be different.
A new market report commissioned by
the UK’s Wine and Sprit Trade Association estimated that over the last 12
months to 7th August the UK’s off-trade market grew by 4.5% to
£14.13m, whilst showing a simultaneous increase in average spend. Much
of this came about as people stayed at home more. Champagne and
sparkling wine sales fared particularly well. So these should be
exciting times for wine retailers. Certainly here we have found a
marked increase not just in the number of customers coming to see us, but
also in the average expenditure – hardly surprising when you look at our
favourable prices and great selection! Your word of mouth is certainly
helping, and I thank you for that.
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Boursot’s New Website
You will notice that our website www.boursot.co.uk has undergone a
facelift. All the information is there as before, but I hope you
find it more pleasing to your eye and, of course, easy to use. As
previously, if you might like to add a friend on to the mailing list, there
is a button on the home page. There is also an interesting new
page on the Boursot history in Champagne, referred to below, onwww.boursot.co.uk/champagne.html .
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Boursot’s New List
As always you can see our new list on this link and if you would like
to print it, it’s available on this
link . I believe that this is the best and
most comprehensive list of French wines that we have produced yet in our four
years.
Entering the busy new season, as we are, you will find many
exciting new wines especially from the more classic areas of Bordeaux and Burgundy.
There are additional wines from Limoux, Canon-Fronsac, Côtes de Bourg,
Margaux, Pauillac, Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Meursault and Beaune Premier Cru
to name but a few. There are not many wine lovers who could now
claim to be short of their favourite wines - and always of course at the low,
virtually duty-free French prices! It is unlikely that you will read
about us in any British newspaper, so please help to spread the word by
telling your wine loving friends.
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A Spectacular September Offer
This Offer should run, stocks permitting, until our next
newsletter which will be in a month’s time. I have gone back to
my roots with this offer: it’s for the Grande Marque champagne brand
that the Boursot family put on the global map. Of course the family has
been in Burgundy continuously since the 16th century but in 1828,
my great great grandfather set up an important alliance with Champagne
Perrier-Jouët of Epernay... Rather than bore you here with
all the details and the “firsts” that have been attributed to this long and
extraordinary alliance (which include the invention of the dry champagne that
we know and love today), you can read more on this
link.
Champagne Perrier-Jouët, Grand Brut - normally
28,90€ here - reduced to an extraordinary 27,00€ ( around £22.10 at today’s exchange rate). I don’t believe
you will find a better price anywhere and I recommend you take advantage
whilst stocks last.
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.
I hope to see you here again very shortly, especially now that
you have SeaFrance’s fantastic new offer (click those words) on both day and
overnight return fares! You know you need to stock up for
Winter!
With all my best wishes,
Yours sincerely
Guy
Guy Boursot
