We are on our way to Ypres for a ceremony to remember cousin Noel, 100 years after his death on 4 August 1917.
I mentioned the Centenary of the start of the Battle of Passchedaele in the July review newsletter, which we sent to everyone on our email list on 31 July, and that the medals of Captain Noel Chavasse VC and Bar, MC have just gone on display at the Museum of Liverpool until 5 January. The collection will then be returned to the Imperial War Museum in London.
UK duty on wine went up by 10p a bottle to £2.60 (£2.16 plus Vat) in the Budget this month. You’d be forgiven for not picking up on that, as it’s customary for the Chancellor of the day to confuse the media with a short burst of twaddle. “I will make no changes to previously planned upratings of duties on alcohol” is what he said. What he meant was that all alcohol duties were to increase by the chunky rate of inflation (RPI) of 3.9%.
The rise of 8p plus VAT, which came into effect on 13 March, is actually a significant whack on the cost price of your average bottle in a supermarket or in a pub. And completely out of line with what you pay on the continent; here are some facts: Keep reading
According to the Wine and Spirit Association in the UK, 90% of their members were in favour of remaining in the EU. We all know that it’s pretty clear that Parliament will give the go ahead to the Theresa May to trigger Article 50 but that hasn’t stopped people in the trade writing to their MPs before the vote on Article 50 – notably in constituencies which voted Remain. Here are some of them, including a couple from Masters of Wine, and a reply from an MP.
1. Tim Atkin MW to his Tory MP in Putney, the cabinet minister Justine Greening. Keep reading
Here’s a snapshot of how wine prices in general are likely to increase in the UK, given the fall in Sterling since June. As UK duty is a fixed £2.08 plus VAT per bottle for still wine, expect 5% on a £5 bottle – because the cost of the wine itself is relatively small – and up to 10% on bottles that sell for £10 or more. Beware the likely Toblerone effect in some cases (less spent on the wine inside, for the same consumer price) and note that these numbers don’t include any increases from producers. Keep reading
We’re not allowed to vote in the UK referendum on the EU, having moved to France over 15 years ago. Enough has been said about the economy, immigration and self-interest, so I wanted to share an unusual and poignant tale about working together.
Noel Chavasse’s grave at Brandhoek near Ypres
Captain Noel Chavasse was a doctor, and the only man to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice during the First World War. He won the first at Guillemont during the Battle of the Somme a hundred years ago this summer, rescuing ‘some twenty badly-wounded men’ from no-man’s land under fire, and a second VC at Passchendaele the following August in 1917.
’Noel Chavasse never killed anyone, nor did he even fire a shot in anger. He was never aggressive or vindictive; never for a moment did he lose his essential decency and restraint. Yet he is one of only three men who have won the VC twice and in some ways the most remarkable of all.’
From ’Supreme Courage – Heroic stories from 150 years of the Victoria Cross’, by General Sir Peter de la Billière.
Noel was the first cousin of my granny, Esme Quinney, née Chavasse (hence he was my ‘first cousin twice removed’). They and their families were descendants of a Frenchman who had settled in England early in the eighteenth century. Chavasse is the middle name of my late father, myself and my children, so you can imagine that Noel’s story has always been close to our hearts. Keep reading
Currently, there’s no limit to the amount of wine you can bring back to the UK from France and the EU, provided it’s for your own use and you travel with the goods. That way you save £2.50 a bottle in UK duty (of £2.08 plus VAT on the duty). If you bought the wine outside the EU, however, the limit is 4 litres, plus a whopping 2 litres of sparkling wine. If Britain leaves the EU, we’re struggling to see what incentive there is for the taxman to increase the non-EU allowance. Keep reading
For those of you with an interest in the fine wines of Bordeaux and the en primeur circus, here’s an interesting article from Oxford Today, the university magazine, which we’ve republished with their kind permission. Several reasonably bright friends and family brought it to our attention. Hanneke Wilson, the wine steward at Exeter college, explains how en primeur is regarded by the Oxford colleges – once a strong market for Bordeaux. (In French too, for the Bordelais.)
The piece was from last Autumn, and focuses on the Bordeaux 2014 vintage – a very good one – but the points about consumer confidence and the way the offers come out are still valid. Keep reading
UK wine duty went up to £2.50 a bottle (£2.08 ex-Vat) in the Budget on 16 March, which was disappointing following last year’s ’freeze’. It now seems that the freeze thawed fairly soon after the General Election and that any future drop in duty is unlikely.
I’ve updated the charts I’ve used before showing how the UK compares with the rest of Europe – not well – and the evolution of wine duty since 2000. It is demonstrably unfair to the British wine consumer, and spare a thought for the poor Irish. The Irish have the highest duty on wine, with Britain in second place.
It’s reasonable to believe that duty is almost non-existent in wine producing countries to protect their local industries, but what about wine-loving Belgium on just 40p a bottle? And as you can see below, the last eight years have been much tougher on British wine drinkers compared to the previous eight. (We bought the vineyard and started selling our wine in the UK in 2000.) The exchange rate is included to show the relative buying power of sterling against the euro. 
Keep reading
With all that new wine, it feels strange to be cast in the role of villain. You’ve probably seen Dame Sally’s new UK drinking guidelines and you might be as bemused as we are. Most of our wine ends up in Britain; we don’t regard it as poison and we’re confident that most of our customers don’t either (oi, no heckling from the back). Wine is something to be enjoyed, especially with a meal, and when you’ve had enough, just stop.
Here are some excellent articles on the subject. We’re slightly biased, naturally.
Andrew Jefford in Decanter magazine: UK drinking limits – toxic advice?
“Britain’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, fired a torpedo at the nation’s drinkers in the first week of 2016. Or did she? Let’s examine the facts.”
We were thrilled that London’s smartest new club, 67 Pall Mall, poured Chateau Bauduc throughout the opening evenings last week. 200 bottles of Les Trois Hectares red 2011 disappeared, and half as much Sauvignon Blanc on top, alongside the free-flowing Gosset Champagne. Well done to all the team – a cracking effort.
Master of Wine and club member Richard Hemming has published A first look inside 67 Pall Mall. ’Les Trois Hectares 2011 was on very fine form’ he wrote.
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