January 2007 news about wine tours in Bordeaux France, France gourmet wine country travel, and luxury Bordeaux wine tours, French wine tasting vacations.


	Newsletter 1, January - February, Vintage 2007
	Return to newsletter archive index Read about: v Our new Bordeaux Harvest Tour v Valentine with The Bordeaux Wine v Meeting wine writer Natalie MacLean in Toronto v Mouton 2004 label by Prince Charles vThe next generation Bordeaux Wine Experience v Self catering accommodation in the Bordeaux region v Bordeaux Wine Trivia Quiz		Dear wine lover, Let me start this first Newsletter of 2007 by wishing you a very healthy and happy new year with lots of great (Bordeaux) wines in the company of good friends and family. We have had an exceptional cold Christmas here in Bordeaux. There was no snow but in our experience it was freezing cold. We felt cheated because one of the reasons we left the Netherlands was the weather. Around Christmas it was colder in Bordeaux then it was in Holland! Bordeaux vines covered with white frost on Christmas day On New year’s day we left for a trip to London with the boys. Their focus was on the changing of the guards and seeing “The Lion King” at the West End. We of course, had more of an interest in the food and wine experience London can offer. As an absolute highlight we splurged on a Pavilion Rouge de Chateau Margaux 1995 at The London Ritz. People who travelled with us will know: we think it is all about experiences. Margaret and I danced the night away on “putting on the Ritz”. The food was great the wine was beautiful and the palace style dining room was impressive, over the top and a little bit intimidating. I had brought a suit and tie but I still felt underdressed: I was one of the two people not wearing a tuxedo... Dining at the Ritz was a great experience, but it is not the kind of restaurant that we would incorporate in our wine tours. We prefer the more contemporary "younger" ones. In this Newsletter we have some exciting news on our new Bordeaux Harvest Tour. On a side note, you can read my view on the future development of the Bordeaux Wine Experience. And you can see my proud face as I pose with wine writer Natalie MacLean in Toronto where she signs my copy of her latest book. And I have another –not so easy- wine trivia question for you. I hope you enjoy reading this Newsletter and hope to see you with us in “la douce France”. And for 2007: don’t drink anything I wouldn’t drink! Have a great year! Ronald Rens, M. Sc., Wine Master President Ronald and Margaret “Putting on the Ritz” in London
Mouton Rothschild 1945, My son’s class bringing in the 2006 My personal copy the vintage with the V for Victory vintage in our village signed by Natalie Our new Bordeaux Harvest Tour There aren’t many spots left on our scheduled tours for 2007. Two of our tours are sold out and on the others we have just the last few places available. Many of you have been asking us to schedule more tours, so here we are! For September 2007 we have organized a very special extra tour: The Bordeaux Harvest Tour! This unique tour (6 days, 5 nights), which will include a real pickers lunch at a Classified Growth Chateau, will take place from September 24 – September 29, 2007. You will even be invited to pick some of the holy grapes yourselves! Luckily you’ll harvest just for a short while because, as romantic as it may sound, it is backbreaking tiresome work. Harvest at Château Margaux This tour is really unique as everything just buzzes with action and anticipation. Bordeaux, never very open to visitors, closes like an oyster in harvest time. Fortunately we can get you into chateaux that usually keep their gates firmly locked to visitors, especially during harvest. Throw in the great meals our tours are famous for and a lot of fun and you’ll understand why our tours sell out so fast. So avoid disappointment and reserve your place today! For more information on the Harvest Tour, please click here. Valentine with The Bordeaux Wine Experience at Chateau Coulon Laurensac If you are in the Bordeaux region around February 14, we have a wonderful Valentine offer for you. What could be more romantic that a Valentine mini break "au Chateau" in Bordeaux wine Country? The Valentine offer consists of: § One night in a comfortable room (double bed, bathroom with Jacuzzi). § A bottle of Champagne, flowers and chocolates in your room. § Four course dinner in front of the fireplace in our favorite restaurant (Valentine menu, 4 dishes and wines included). § Wine accessory gift. § Gourmet breakfast served late... It is possible to add a second night au Château with an appointment for a visit and a tasting at a Saint Emilion Wine Château (Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé) the next morning (self-drive visit). Dates: ***Every day from: February 10 to February 19* (Offer is not restricted to weekends and can be booked for any day of the week) For more information on our Valentine offer, please click here. Meeting Natalie MacLean in Toronto Last November The Bordeaux Wine Experience came to Canada. Margaret and I participated at the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine Expo. A really inspiring show where we’ve met a lot of truly interesting new people. It was at this show that we met wine writer Natalie MacLean. I had been in contact with Natalie for a while but I had never met her in person. At the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine Expo she was signing her new and highly entertaining book: Red, White and Drunk All Over, A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. Charming as ever, Natalie posed with me for a picture just before signing my copy of her book. She has a particularly interesting newsletter at www.nataliemaclean.com. Ronald with Natalie in Toronto Mouton Rothschild 2004 label by Prince Charles** If you are a member of our “Alumni club” (meaning you have already toured with us), you’ll know that I have “something special” with Mouton Rothschild. So again you’ll find some news about this extraordinary First Growth. Not only is their wine remarkable, the chateau is famous for its labels each with a work of art by a contemporary artist. Since 1945, with the famous V for Victory, each Mouton label has been designed by a different contemporary artist. With the 2004 vintage Prince Charles joins the list which includes Braque, Picasso, Miró, Chagall, Kandinsky, Warhol, Francis Bacon and Balthus (the Balthus label was forbidden in the USA because of the picture of a nude girl…). The 2004 watercolour by the Prince, a well known water colourist, shows pine trees at Cape d’Antibes on the Côte d’Azur. The watercolour was not painted for the chateau but it was personally selected by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild. In 2004 the anniversary of the Entente Cordial was celebrated. (The Anglo-French Entente treaty of April 8th 1904). To commemorate this jubilee, Prince Charles was chosen as an artist for the label. On the painting it is inscribed: “To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, Charles 2004”. The 2004 Mouton Rothschild has just been bottled and is now on the market for around € 120 (US$ 170) a bottle. At the Farewell Dinner on our tours, we usually drink the Mouton 1994 (with the label by the Dutch artist Karel Appel). Baroness Philippine de Rothschild The next generation Bordeaux Wine Experience Living in the Bordeaux region has many advantages. Apart from living in a beautiful region with an exceptional climate, we have the best wines of the world just around the corner. My eldest son Roderick (9 years old) can already name the five First Growths and his brother Alexander (7 years old) knows exactly were in my wine cellar he can find his bottles with the rams kicking away the 3 nines of the millennium (Mouton Rothschild 1999). On a school outing, Alexander went to a local chateau in our village to “help” with the harvest. He and his classmates “expertly” harvested “their” bunches of Cabernet Sauvignon. Afterwards he tasted the 2006 vintage (just the grape juice). If he picks up my wine virus, your children may one day be touring the Bordeaux region with my son. We’ll see. In the meantime it will be me conducting our tours in Bordeaux. Alexander’s 1999 Mouton Rothschild Self catering accommodation at Chateau Coulon Laurensac Did you know that you can stay at our Chateau when there are no wine tours? If you are looking for self catering accommodation to spend one or more weeks in our Bordeaux region, Chateau Coulon Laurensac might be a good choice for you. The Chateau is Michelin rated and is referenced in the Alastair Sawday's "Special Places to Stay" guidebook. For more information you can visit de Coulon Laurensac website by clicking here. Wine trivia quiz We received a lot of answers to our November Newsletter, most of them right. Indeed the answer was Mouton Rothschild 2000, appellation Pauillac. We have sent a wine accessory gift to ten of the people who send in the right answer. This time the Wine Trivia Quiz is a little bit more difficult and has to do with history. Here is the question: How many chateaux were classified as a FIRST Growth in 1855? Be careful: this question is NOT as easy as you might think. Let me know before January 30 2007 what you think at: Ronald@BXWINEX.com. The correct answer will be on our website as of January 31 on our Newsletter archive. Forward to a Friend I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. I even would like to ask you to forward it to a friend, family member or colleague who loves wine! We hope to see you soon with us here in France! Cheers from Bordeaux, Ronald and Margaret Rens				Visit our website: Bordeaux Wine Tours www.BXWINEX.com
				2007 Wine Tour Schedule (Only five couples per tour!) We proudly present the following Tours and dates for 2007: The Bordeaux Harvest Tour September 24 – 29, 2007 (Now open for booking) The Grand Tour of Bordeaux 1 May 28-June 2, 2007 Last 4 spots remaining! (just two couples) The Grand Tour of Bordeaux 2 September 3-8, 2007 (Sold out!) The Bordeaux Grand Cru Tour 1 June 11-16, 2007 (Sold out!) The Bordeaux Grand Cru Tour 2 July 2-July 7, 2007 These Bordeaux Wine Tours are 6 days, 5 nights. Avoid disappointment and reserve your place today! (Click here!) The Bordeaux Wine Experience Wine weekends at Château Coulon Laurensac Weekend wine and Chateaux of Bordeaux at Château Coulon Laurensac (every weekend or any day of the week) One night at Chateau Coulon Laurensac (double bed, bathroom with jacuzzi). Lovely four course dinner in front of the fireplace in our favorite gastronomic restaurant on the riverbanks of the Garonne River (4 courses and wine included). Visit at Saint Emilion Grand Cru Wine Château the next morning, etc… For more information please click here! The Bordeaux Wine Experience Gift Vouchers An original gift idea is a Bordeaux Wine Experience Gift Voucher. These gift vouchers can be used for: § Wine Weekends, § Wine Day Tours, § Paris Wine Tours, § Full week wine tours. You tell us what you would like to offer and we will prepare a beautiful invitation card that will serve as gift voucher for the tour you would like to offer. These invitation cards are much appreciated and are considered an original and elegant gift. Click here for more information.

				The Bordeaux Wine Experience Chateau Coulon Laurensac 1, chemin de Meydieu 33360 Latresne (BORDEAUX), France Tel: +33 (0)556 20 64 12 Fax: +33(0)556 21 79 44 Email : info@BXWINEX.com Web : www.BXWINEX.com Subscribe to this newsletter because you want to be the first to know! Click here to subscribe Don’t want to receive this newsletter anymore? Click here to unsubscribe
		Copyright © 2007 by The Bordeaux Wine Experience. All rights reserved. The content, design and graphical elements of this newsletter are copyrighted. Please ask the permission of the author before copying or using this material. The Bordeaux Wine Experience is a Dutch company specializing in wine and culinary tours in the Bordeaux region for an English speaking international clientele.