Reliving the Cross-Channel Booze Cruise

Back in the 1980s and 90s a popular excursion for people living in East Kent was a day trip to France. After all, French ports just across the Channel such as Calais, Boulogne and Dunkerque were nearer than London and competition at the time between ferry operators (later joined by Eurotunnel) guaranteed that transporting you and your car on a trip across the water was cheap, cheerful and potentially profitable. Indeed, on many occasions since I have happily recounted how in the late 90s we used to pay Eurotunnel just £9 for an evening return with the car to Calais to buy some wine, have a quick meal, fill up with petrol at the Auchan hypermarket and be back in Canterbury by midnight.  At the time there were plenty of wine warehouses in the area as well as UK retailers such as Tesco, Majestic Wines etc selling at 'duty free' prices that made it easy to recoup the cost of the trip, and the favourable difference between the price of petrol in France and the UK was a further bonus.  But for whatever reason (other priorities, trips further afield by air, higher prices for Channel crossings?) our wine runs across the Channel dwindled in the first decade of the new century pretty much in parallel with the general demise of Britain's booze cruise mania.  Some twenty years later it has been great fun to pop across to France by car again on a couple of occasions recently to relive the booze cruise experience, albeit slightly more leisurely with 48 hour trips and, unsurprisingly, rather more expensive.  Nevertheless, like-for-like bottles of decent wine remain significantly cheaper than in the UK, there's a lot to see and do in the Hauts de France region within 75 miles / 90 mins of landing in Calais, and eating out is better than ever.   Here are a couple of wine finds from these recent trips that I feel are worth recommending:  

Domaine Le Roc, Les Petits Cailloux, AOP Fronton

Domaine Le Roc, Les Petits Cailloux, AOP Fronton

This is a red wine from the Fronton wine region north of Toulouse in SW France.  Red wines make up 85% of production in this appellation and they're primarily made from a grape variety unique to the area called Négrette.  It is typically blended with Syrah or Côt (the local name for Malbec) with this particular bottle being 70% Négrette with 30% Syrah. It is the second wine from Château Le Roc and is described as having "a wide aromatic palette ranging from red fruit notes to floral and spicy. A fresh and balanced wine ending with noted of violets and pepper". We first came across it as a recommended 'local' wine with a meal at the restaurant Aux Pieds sous la Table, a lively place in the university quarter in Toulouse last September. It was priced at 29€ a bottle (just less than £25) although I see from the carte des vins on their website now that it is no longer listed.  Nevertheless, imagine my delight on returning home when I found The Wine Society was selling exactly the same bottle for £11.50.

But the story doesn't end there because when I was searching online to see whether it was available elsewhere in the UK I came across a listing at French outlet Calais Vins for just €8.95 (approx £7.65).  This is a long established wine warehouse with 2 sites in Calais, one just off the motorway south of the Eurotunnel terminal, the other nearer the town.  I was able to reserve a case of 6 bottles of the wine in advance and picked them on arrival in France a couple of weeks ago with a saving of £4 per bottle on the UK price.  Happy days!

Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny 2023

Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny 2023

Another wine recommendation bought during our recent trips to northern France is a red wine from the Loire Valley.  I have always enjoyed the 100% Cabernet Franc wines from the Loire and Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny 2023 is a fine example.  To be clear, it is still possible to buy Loire Valley Cabernet Francs in the UK for around £10 (e.g. Les Nivières Saumur at Waitrose) but this wine is at a different level.  It is the entry level wine from Thierry Germain, one of the most talented winemakers in the region who was voted best winemaker in France in 2011 by the Revue des Vins de France.  It's a young, light-medium bodied wine with generous fruit flavours and a slightly smokey finish.  There is a hint of oak too.  I first bought it last summer at the long-established wine merchant Vinophilie near the castles in Montreuil-sur-Mer, the charming walled town inland from Le Touquet 75km south of Calais.  It was so good we went back for more last month.  Although priced in France at 15.50€ (approx.£13.25) it is still good value. In the UK this wine is listed by a few independent wine shops in the range £22-£24.  

In short, both of these wines are 35-40% cheaper in France than in the UK and that, for me, still makes a quick trip over the Channel a great day out / couple of days away.