Collect from Ardres — no UK duty, French prices from €4.40 — 15 minutes from Calais Order online — French wines at French prices, delivered across Ireland
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Est. Ardres, 2006 · Family in wine since 1650

A wine shop
worth the crossing

Personally selected wines at French prices, tastings in a vaulted cellar, and advice from someone who's spent 40 years in the trade. All in a 250-year-old building in Ardres, just 15 minutes from Calais.

"Come for the wines, stay for the lunch, and save yourself a fortune." — Guy Boursot
Browse Wines View Wine List (PDF) Plan Your Visit
Boursot's Wine Collection as seen from Ardres' main square
The shop on Rue de l'Arsenal, Ardres
1,000+ talks given on wine
What You'll Find

More than a wine shop

i.

Gourmet Dinners

English-language wine dinners in partner restaurants. Guest speakers, 4 courses, 6 wines, hotel on site. Friendly groups of 40.

From €70 per person
See upcoming events
ii.

Wedding Wine

A personalised wine list for your wedding. Taste, choose, and collect from Ardres. Couples typically save over £1,000 on UK prices.

Gift vouchers available
Trying wines for our wedding
iii.

Wine Receiving & Storage

Order from any vineyard, have it delivered to our shop, collect when you visit. Secure underground cellars at constant temperature.

€5.50 per dozen (receiving)
How it works
iv.

Cellar Advice

A one-stop advice centre. Building a collection, where to keep wines, when to drink, keep or sell — and valuations when you need them.

Free, from 40 years in the trade
Ask us
Upcoming

Join us for dinner

All our events are conducted in English. Great food, great wine, great company.

Saturday 26 September 2026

New Arrival Wines
for Autumn Enjoyment

Hotel la Matelote, Boulogne sur Mer. A sumptuous meal with innovative combinations and flavours at this Michelin-starred restaurant on the sea front of France's biggest fishing port. Four courses and six wines. Superior rooms from our allocation at €155, breakfast included.

€95 per person
Reserve at [email protected]
Saturday 10 October 2026

An Evening at
Château de Cocove

Château de Cocove, Recques sur Hem. Switch off and have a complete change of pace in the relaxing countryside setting of this 18th-century château hotel, just 10 minutes south of Ardres. Dinner in the fine panelled private dining room — four courses, six wines and all entertainment. Theme to be announced.

€95 per person
Numbers limited — book now at [email protected]
Saturday 21 November 2026

Modern versus Old Fashioned
Wines of Bordeaux

Château des Tourelles, Le Wast. A consistent winner in our minds as having simply great food — always busy with many French foodies. Rooms are simple and reasonably priced at €105 per double, breakfast included; let us know if you'd like one from our allocation.

€92 per person
Reserve at [email protected]

To book: [email protected] or +33 321 36 81 46

¤
French prices — from €4.40
★
No UK duty when you collect
⊕
Taste before you buy in our cellar
↳
20 min from Calais
Guy's Picks

What I'm Drinking
This Month

Every wine in the shop is one I've chosen personally. These are the bottles I keep coming back to right now — and the ones I'm pouring for visitors in the cellar this week.

Browse All Wines
The Boursot Heritage

Four centuries of wine,
one family

From Burgundy vineyards to a friendship with Napoléon, from importing Perrier-Jouët for 130 years to a shop beside the church in Ardres.

1650
Chambolle-Musigny
The Boursot family owns vineyards in the Côte de Nuits, Burgundy. They have been in wine and in Chambolle ever since.
1792
Napoléon's friend
Claude Boursot befriends Napoléon at Auxonne. They fight side by side. Napoléon appoints him as his wine and champagne buyer, and later gave him the position of intelligence officer as “Keeper of the Archives” in Calais.
1868
Perrier-Jouët & two firsts
Adolphe Boursot ships dry champagne to London — starting a fashion the world has adopted. He also invents the wine label.
2006
Ardres
After 17 years at Berry Bros & Rudd, Guy opens his own shop in a 250-year-old building in the heart of Ardres.
Read the Full Story
Tastings in the vaulted cellar for wedding couples
Tastings in the cellar for wedding couples can be organised
Weddings & Parties

Your wine,
at French prices

Planning a wedding or a big party? Come to Ardres, enjoy a great lunch, taste the wines, and take home guaranteed quality at prices that make the UK look silly.

We offer a personalised wedding list service. Gift vouchers or pre-selected wines — everything held in our cellars until the newlyweds are ready. The average couple saves well over £1,000.

Wedding Service
Tax-Free Shopping

Buy wine. Save 15%. Repeat.

UK visitors can claim back French VAT with our tax-free partners Skiptax, Zapptax, and Global Blue. Just tell us at checkout — we'll do the paperwork, you do the scanning at Calais. Simple as that.

How it works
Guy Boursot
"Escape for the day or the weekend and enjoy some of the finer things France has to offer — and save yourself a fortune."
Guy Boursot
Vintner, wine writer, and your host in Ardres

Guy's Monthly Newsletter

Wine news, offers, event announcements, and the occasional opinion.

The Collection

All Wines

Prices in EUR. Pay securely online by card — total up your order from the prices below, then enter the total on the payment page. Email your wine list to [email protected] so we can confirm your collection from Ardres.

Pay for Your Order

Order online for delivery across Ireland, or collect from our shop in Ardres. Prices in EUR.

"Every bottle in this shop is one I've chosen myself and would happily drink. If you're not sure, come in and we'll open something together." — Guy
Download Wine List (PDF)

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Our Story

Four centuries of wine,
one family

From Chambolle-Musigny to Ardres

Guy Boursot

Guy Boursot, member of the Worshipful Company of Vintners

After 17 years at Berry Bros & Rudd — London's oldest wine merchant — buying and selling some of the world's finest wines, Guy left to rekindle his family's historic wine business. He opened Boursot's Wine Collection in 2006, in a 250-year-old listed building in the pretty town of Ardres, 15 minutes south of Calais.

A member of the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Circle of Wine Writers, Guy has given well over 1,000 talks on wine and appeared on both radio and television. His style is informative but entertaining — whether hosting a gourmet dinner in Boulogne or presenting at the Ideal Home Exhibition in London.

"To hear Guy talk on Champagne or Burgundy is to truly appreciate the knowledge and pleasure derived from centuries of winemaking."

Wine agency review

The Boursot Heritage

Guy Boursot's great-great grandfather
Adolphe Boursot

In the 16th century, a Boursot living in Dijon owned vineyards at Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte de Nuits. The family has been in wine ever since.

In 1792, Claude Boursot enlisted in the Artillery Regiment at Auxonne, where he became a close friend of one young Napoléon Bonaparte. They fought side by side through the Italian campaigns and the French Revolution. Napoléon appointed him as his wine and champagne buyer, and later gave him the position of intelligence officer as “Keeper of the Archives” in Calais.

Adolphe Boursot later moved to London and established A. Boursot & Co in the City, introducing Perrier-Jouët champagne to the United Kingdom. The Boursot family handled Perrier-Jouët for 130 years, selling 75% of their annual million-bottle production.

Two Firsts

Around 1868, the Boursot/Perrier-Jouët partnership made the experiment of shipping dry champagne to London — starting a fashion the whole world has since adopted. Adolphe also suggested putting a label on the bottle; until then, the brand had appeared only on the cork.

Adolphe Boursot and his family in Calais, 1862
Adolphe Boursot and his family in the gardens of Château Boursot in Calais — 1862
Perrier-Jouet champagne, imported by the Boursot family for 130 years
Perrier-Jouët — imported by the Boursots for 130 years

Wine Writer & Presenter

With over 40 years in the trade, Guy writes for magazines and websites and is available for corporate events, group tastings, and private talks. His most requested topics include Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne.

"You gave one of the very best presentations I have ever heard. You enraptured everyone with your passion, knowledge and easy style — you even managed to hold the interest of those who do not drink wine!"

RB, October 2011

"Thank you for last night — you turned the evening into a really great occasion. You have been described as impressive, charming, cool, very knowledgeable and the perfect presenter."

CW, October 2015

Contact Guy Directly

Experiences

Wine dinners, tours,
weddings & more

All conducted in English. All designed to be enjoyed.

Wine Dinners & Tastings

Boursot's gourmet dinners feature a wine-related guest speaker and are always conducted in English. Expect a bubbly reception, a four-course dinner paired with five or more wines, and often a hotel arrangement so you need only totter upstairs after dinner.

Numbers are restricted to around 40 for a friendly atmosphere. The shop is open the morning after Saturday dinners.

Boursot's wine dinner event
Saturday 26 September 2026

New Arrival Wines for Autumn Enjoyment

Hotel la Matelote, Boulogne sur Mer. A sumptuous meal with innovative combinations and flavours at this Michelin-starred restaurant on the sea front. Four courses and six wines. Superior rooms from our allocation at €155, breakfast included.

€95 per person
Saturday 10 October 2026

An Evening at Château de Cocove

Château de Cocove, Recques sur Hem — an 18th-century château hotel just 10 minutes south of Ardres. Dinner in the fine panelled private dining room: four courses, six wines and all entertainment. Theme to be announced. Numbers limited.

€95 per person
Saturday 21 November 2026

Modern versus Old Fashioned Wines of Bordeaux

Château des Tourelles, Le Wast. Simply great food — always busy with many French foodies. Double rooms €105, breakfast included, from our allocation.

€92 per person

Contact [email protected] or +33 321 36 81 46 to book.

Vineyard Tours

Through our sister company Over The Top Tours, visit the wine regions of France and go through doors that others can only knock on. Meet and dine with luminaries of the local wine trade.

Whether for 6 friends or 22 on a team-building exercise, tours are designed to your preferences. Combine vineyards with food producers, cookery classes, or battlefield visits. In Bordeaux, domaines include Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild, Pichon-Lalande, Lynch-Bages, Giscours, and many more.

Vineyard tour in the Champagne region

From £435 all-in for 3 days. See overthetoptours.net.

Wedding Wine Service

Couples can receive either Gift Vouchers or wines they've pre-selected. This is a personalised service — normally set up in person, by phone, or email. No wine expertise required.

Tell us your preferred styles and whether wines are for now or for laying down. We agree a short list for your guests to order from. All wines are held in our cellars until you're ready to collect.

By collecting from Ardres, you avoid UK duty. The donor pays less, the couple gets better wine. The average couple saves well over £1,000.

Wine now, VAT later (in your pocket)

Here's a little secret: your bottle of Boursot wine can get even better once you cross back over the Channel. As a UK visitor, you're entitled to claim back the French VAT on what you buy here — typically 15% back in your pocket, which is basically a free bottle for every few you take home.

We've teamed up with Skiptax, Zapptax, and Global Blue so you can pick whichever tax-free app you fancy. Just mention it when you're paying, and we'll sort the invoice there and then — no forms to hunt down later, no small print to decipher.

When you roll up to the Eurotunnel or ferry terminal at Calais, give your form a quick scan or tap at the kiosk, and that's it — refund on its way, wine already in the boot.

Wine Receiving & Storage

Receiving: Order directly from your favourite vineyards and have them delivered to our shop. Collect at your convenience, at French duty rates. €5.50 per dozen for handling.

Storage: Secure underground cellars at constant temperature. Insured against breakage or loss. €0.90 per dozen per month.

Before ordering from the vineyards, we ask that customers please advise us of the quantities & wines they are arranging to send. We can accept no responsibility for wines received without any prior notice or markings on the boxes. It is also helpful to tell us how long you wish us to hold these wines prior to your collection — how many days/weeks/months/years — so we know whereabouts in our cellars to place your wines.

Cellar Advice

With many years of experience, we are well positioned to advise you on building up a collection of wines, on an area in your home where you can keep wines for the longer term, on sending them to a professional cellaring company, or on where and how to dispose of them — or whether simply to drink them.

Or simply to determine whether it’s best to drink some of your wines, keep them or sell them — and we can arrange valuations.

A one-stop advice centre. Email us on [email protected] for all advice.

Visit Ardres

15 minutes south of Calais, a world away from the hypermarkets

Finding Us

Boursot's Wine Collection
9 Rue de l'Arsenal, 62610 Ardres, France

From the tunnel or port, take the A16. Exit at J46 signed D943 to ARDRES and SAINT-OMER. Continue for about 15 minutes into Ardres.

At the traffic lights, go straight following CENTRE VILLE into the cobbled square. The church is on your right. Rue de l'Arsenal runs beside the restaurant — we're the first building after the church.

Do not confuse ARDRES with ANDRES!

View of Boursot's Wine Collection from Ardres' cobbled main square

Journey Times

  • From Calais: 20 minutes
  • From Dover (inc. ferry): 1.5 hours
  • From London (inc. Eurotunnel): 4 hours

Opening Hours

  • Monday–Saturday: 10:00–18:00 (non-stop)
  • Sunday: Closed (or by appointment)

Contact

Tel: +33 (0)3 21 36 81 46
Email: [email protected]

Map showing location of Ardres near Calais
Where to Stay

Partner Hotels

Special rates for Boursot's customers

Hôtel La Matelote

Boulogne sur Mer seafront. The Matelote's séjour de charme package is available to Boursot's customers at €295 per week night and €320 Saturday nights and public holidays. This includes one night in a standard or superior room, breakfast, dinner for two (menu découvert) with drinks included, and access to the hotel's spa.

Exclusive séjour de charme rates

Château Tilques

Superior "Luxe" rooms including breakfast.

Special rate — mention Boursot
Newsletter

Guy's Monthly Newsletter

Wine news, offers, opinions, and the occasional tall story