The greatest list on earth

With the entries all in for the inaugural Louis Roederer Wine List of the Year, our sommelier judges sat down to draw up a shortlist from the hundreds of submissions. Chris Losh supplied them with coffee as they got to work

There are certain things you find yourself wondering at three in the morning: why there’s no blue food, how Liz Hurley ever became famous on the back of one dress, and who has the best wine list in the UK. Sadly, the finest minds in the country will never crack the first two, but the third question we will soon be in a position to answer, thanks to the inaugural Louis Roederer Wine List of the Year competition.

In the first few months of 2010, entries came pouring in from all over the UK – from Skye to Cornwall, Manchester to Mayfair. They came in from every kind of venue: from tiny restaurants with rooms to grand hotels, from local pubs and neighbourhood restaurants to the Michelin-starred heavyweights.

And in April our teams of judges – made up of top sommeliers and wine buyers from across the on-trade – locked themselves in a room with huge piles of lists and enough coffee to make Michael Jackson consider a comeback to decide which were the best.

Rather than put lists into pre-ordained categories – white tablecloth, gastropub, hotel, for example – they began with no proscriptive criteria at all. Instead, they considered every entry’s demographic – covers, average spend, food type – and made judgments on how well the list fitted with its surroundings.

Extra marks were given for venues that had clearly gone the extra mile in sourcing, rather than simply getting everything from one supplier, and there were further marks for presentation: how easy was the list to follow? Was it clearly laid out? Did it help the customer to make a decision? Was it, in short, welcoming and inclusive?

That said, there was also room for what you might call ‘quirky genius’ – lists that were, by most objective criteria, flawed, but that had plenty of personality and, often, an obvious enthusiasm on the part of the compiler for a certain wine style.

Since the competition received hundreds of entries, our panel had to be ruthless. A lot of the outlets who entered will probably feel themselves aggrieved not to have made the short list. And to be sure, while there are 25 who made it through to the final round of judging, we could easily have had twice that number.

All we can say to the unlucky entrants is thanks for entering, and better luck next year. But we also hope that you can learn from our findings this year to improve what you do for 2011.

Simply having a huge list of good wines isn’t enough to win. There needs to be obvious passion, personality and warmth. If you want to charge big money, the punter needs to get a sense of why the wines are so expensive.

Generally, it helps to sub-divide your lists beyond simply ‘red, white and sparkling’. Vast columns of wine names are not accessible – and they’re hard to read.

And don’t forget to put on vintages and producers! Many lists now also have the abv of every bottle.

Be wary of letting your enthusiasm run away with you. A list full of maps, information about obscure grape varieties and pictures of dozens of small growers is less useful to customers than knowing what kind of food a wine goes with. Clarity and concision are important.

If you don’t want to write full tasting notes for each wine, then at least consider sub-dividing your list either by broad wine style (light and aromatic, rich and oaky, for instance) or giving food-matching suggestions.

Finally, be wary of just copying out the notes from your merchants. Does it really help anyone to know that a wine is ‘60% Bourbulenc’?

The first round of judging was done by two teams of top sommeliers, with three members to each panel.

To avoid any bias towards top-end restaurants, each team had a judge who specialised in a different style of restaurant: neighbourhood, gastropub and more traditional.

Since some of the judges had entered their own lists, we made sure that their submissions were judged by the other team and they had no influence over the results.

The final round of judging (to be reported in the September issue of Imbibe) will be carried out by a combination of ex-sommeliers, who understand the needs of the on-trade, but have no vested interest in the results, and respected consultants who regularly work with restaurants.

THE AMBASSADOR CAFÉ, LONDON

This is a story of horses for courses. ‘This place describes itself as a café bistro, and the list reflects that, which a lot of places fail to do,’ said Hamish Anderson. The list is not split up beyond red and white, which was a problem for some, but Jo Eames was unfazed. ‘There’s nothing wrong with just listing things by price, provided it’s clear,’ she said. Focused very much on the Old World, it has a personality of its own, and the ‘Wines of the Moment’ allows the owners to shine a light on more unusual wines, like (at the time of judging) Grüner Veltliner, a Grosset Riesling and a dry Alsace Gewurztraminer.

THE BELL AT SKENFRITH, NEAR ROSS-ON-WYE

This is firmly in the ‘quirky genius’ category. A huge, slightly unruly list is stuffed full of great wines (and a truly awe-inspiring champagne selection, with amazing multi-vintage focuses on several Grandes Marques). Thierry Tomasin had reservations about its size. ‘There’s so much it’s tiring,’ he sighed, ‘I’m sure he could have reduced it a bit if he’d wanted to.’ But the panel were won over by the sheer energy of it all, including the frankly bonkers full-length cartoons that appeared regularly throughout.

CAMINO, LONDON

This small list was perfectly in keeping with the tapas bar restaurant for which it was created. Its 40 wines (all Spanish) are adequate rather than inspiring, but they all have a small note, and many are available by the glass. Plus the way in which the list tries to push sherry is a commendable nailing of its colours to the mast. ‘It’s not so much about the wines here,’ said Paulo Brammer. ‘They’re reliable rather than exciting – but they match the food and the overall feel is great.’

CHERWELL BOAT HOUSE, OXFORD

The fact that Olivier Gasselin, one of the judges, photographed the restaurant’s contact details with his phone shows you how much this appealed to our selectors. This was uniformly greeted with a huge amount of enthusiasm, not least for prices that seemed, at times, to defy logic. The 1982 Mouton-Rothschild at £550 was cheaper than we could find it on the internet! ‘There are a lot of positives here,’ said Gasselin. ‘But not just the price. There are some really great producers, it’s attractive to customers and the margins are amazing.’ There were some nice imaginative touches, too: a load of half-bottles, and German wines were listed in descending order of sweetness...

CLOS MAGGIORE, LONDON

This clean and spacious list had a few flaws – ‘it’s hard to access’ grumbled Jo Eames – but it had a huge number of really, really good wines on it. Possibly one for those in the know and genuine wine lovers, it is nonetheless an impressive beast. ‘It’s good value at the top end and the champagne selection is great,’ said Thierry Tomasin. ‘But there’s also a lot of wine around the £30-35 mark. It’s not all expensive.’

COQ D'ARGENT, LONDON

This City establishment is a favourite with traders and bankers with big expense accounts, so there’s no surprise that the top end of the list is well-provided. But it wasn’t the slew of big names that impressed the panel so much as the way they were presented. Chablis was split into left and right-bank and Grand and Premier Cru, there were notes on wineries or winemakers and a sincere introduction from head sommelier, Olivier Marie at the start. In short, it had heart as well as bling. The New World selection was a bit disappointing, but the Bordeaux and Burgundy sections were to die for.

CORRIGAN'S MAYFAIR, LONDON

Yes it’s in Mayfair, and yes the clientele aren’t short of a bob or two, but still this list had our judges swooning. Fantastic wines, but more than that, it was clean, clear, hugely informative and helped even the uninitiated to get started on selection without having to ask the sommelier if they didn’t want to. There were ‘wines to go with oysters’ and ‘inky, dark concentrated reds’, the wines in the various sections were of unimpeachably high quality and also imaginative. ‘There’s a lot of wine on it that you would want to drink, and for where it is it’s not that expensive,’ praised Hamish Anderson. Thierry Tomasin, too, liked its ‘lightness of touch’.

THE CROSS AT KINGUSSIE, INVERNESS

This list really did an awful lot of things right. For a smallish restaurant, it uses a lot of suppliers, which makes for a lot of good, interesting wines, and it has really made an effort to sell them to the customers in a way that makes sense. In this case that means by varietal – with helpful food-matching tips. Sauvignon Blanc, for instance is described as ‘great with goats cheese, fish and chips, mackerel and citrus sauces’. Each wine also has a small tasting note – and the judges loved the little ambulance logo for wines of over 14% abv.

DONNINGTON VALLEY HOTEL AND SPA, BERKSHIRE

This list was not without its flaws – the spelling, for instance, could be a bit erratic. But what it lacked in fine tuning it more than made up for in its approach to the big-picture. ‘On almost every page, there are reasons why you would want to drink the wines,’ said an appreciative Christine Parkinson. ‘Someone has clearly thought about this.’ Case studies on Taittinger, a page of ‘classics’, wines sold by style, with enthusiastic information, ‘trusted friends’ (cheap wines), the ‘beauty of age’... this was almost an object lesson in how to make the most of what you’ve got.

DRAKES OF BRIGHTON

Like the other Drakes submissions, this was an attractive looking list: clean and elegant, with a nice feel that made the judges want to keep reading it. But it was also divided in an extremely user-friendly way by stylistic category, with a compact number of wines in each section. ‘There could have been more top stuff, but it was a very clear list, and I would find it easy to make a decision off this information,’ said Paulo Brammer.

EPERNAY CHAMPAGNE BAR, LEEDS

The red and white wine sections are small but clear in this champagne bar list, with helpful subdivisions such as ‘soft and fruity’ and ‘round and flavoursome’ helping the uninitiated to make an informed decision in the absence of a dedicated specialist. But where this list really scores (as you might guess from the name) is in its fizz selection. There were nine available by the glass, and multi-vintage focuses on plenty of big-hitters like Billecart-Salmon, Bollinger, Bruno Paillard, DP, Gosset and Canard-Duchêne. Roederer Brut Premier at £40 a bottle? What’s not to like?

FRANCO'S, LONDON 

This got through on the strength of its Italian selection. Other restaurants had more wines on offer, but Franco’s managed to achieve an impressive balance between prestige and approachability without being the size of a phone book. ‘If you want a list that’s based mostly on one country, it does that very well,’ said Christine Parkinson.

THE FRENCH TABLE, SURBITON

The key to success here was the way in which the wines matched the outlet. For a smallish neighbourhood restaurant in the heart of Suburbiton, there was never going to be room for hundreds of bottles, but in two very well-presented pages, the list offers a range of unusual wines, with decent tasting notes, and makes a conscious effort to steer clear of box-ticking Chablis and Rioja. Thoughtful and tight: a good 50-wine list.

GALVIN LA CHAPELLE, LONDON

This was a bit wordy. But for all its over-enthusiasm, much of the list was excellent. The standout feature was a truly inspiring selection of Jaboulet’s La Chapelle wines, but our judges were at least as impressed by the fact that the list tried hard to give plenty of background on wine regions, and had 30-odd wines by the glass, often with two sizes of ‘pot’ as well as bottle.

HAKKASAN, LONDON

Hakkasan has attracted plenty of praise for the way in which the list sub-divides its wines by broadly-helpful stylistic quirks. Some verge on the haiku: ‘Sweet but not simple: risky and complex to grow and make’ heralds the start of the dessert wines selection. But what clinched its inclusion in the final round was the way in which the list genuinely seemed to have been chosen with a vast amount of care to suit the very particular vagaries of the food. ‘It’s intelligent without being didactic,’ said Jo Eames. ‘It’s an expensive place, so they could have stuffed it with Bordeaux and Burgundy, but they haven’t,’ praised Hamish Anderson.

THE HARROW AT LITTLE BEDWYN, MARLBOROUGH

This could have made it to the shortlist for any number of reasons. The wines are stunning value for money, while the New World and champagne lists are to die for. The Australian selection, in particular, is exceptional – surely one of the best anywhere outside Oz. It reads like a what’s what and a who’s who of winemaking Down Under with a spectacular selection of Shiraz, Rieslings and Chardonnays, in particular, and names like Grosset, Cullen, Duval, Jim Barry, Shaw and Smith, and Henschke scattered liberally throughout.

THE HIDE BAR, LONDON

This list scored very highly for its presentation. An attractive square hardback cover contained a list that was clearly subdivided into reds, whites, fizz, rosé, cocktails, etc – with every section having its own page, and an easily accessible filing system. Plus the pages were clearly printed, with information about different serves, alcohol and price all easy to follow. Full marks to the designer.

HONG KONG HOUSE, STROUD

For all the big, blingy lists that got sent in stuffed with vintage Burgundy, this was one that perhaps made the biggest impression. A small list for a Chinese restaurant, it nevertheless got everything right. A small, well-chosen list of eminently well-priced wines, clear presentation (by style) on the front list, and more information for those who wanted it later on. ‘I’m absolutely sure that all of these have been tried with the food,’ cooed Christine Parkinson of the well thought-out selection.

THE LAZY LOUNGE, LEEDS

Describing itself as ‘Leeds’ first wine bar’ The Lazy Lounge soon revealed that there was nothing slothful about its list. With loads of wines by the glass and carafe, it fitted its audience perfectly, and there was a terrific selection of wines under £30, with even a good number under £20. It was a good choice, but never intimidating, and easy to navigate. It also scored well on our ‘Dom Pérignon index’ – £95 for the 2000 was insanely cheap.

LORDS OF THE MANOR, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

This wine made the shortlist for one brilliantly simple reason: the section near the start of the list, where it picks out seven or eight key seasonal dishes and suggests a perfect match by-the-glass for each one. Sommelier Fabrice Bouffant has thought carefully about what will make life easier for his clientele, and used the opportunity to suggest some more unusual wines. ‘It’s just a brilliant idea,’ said Paulo Brammer.

THE OLD BRIDGE, HUNTINGDON

There’s an awful lot to like in this list. It has great value for money, a good selection of mature wines, a great range of by-the-glass, half bottles and magnums and terrific prices. There’s also plenty
of information (arguably too much) to help the customers with their choice. There’s bravery, too, in the way in which it champions less fashionable areas like port. High quality stuff.

THE ONE BULL, BURY ST EDMUNDS

Sometimes, less really is more – and this list was a case in point (though it would benefit from having more than one supplier). From a pretty traditional pub (albeit one that will shift 250+ covers at the weekend) this list was an object in brevity and, perhaps more importantly, clarity. Wines were divided by style, with three or four in each section, and just about everything was available in two glass sizes as well as by the bottle. ‘If I went into a pub and found a list like that, I’d be overjoyed,’ said Christine Parkinson.

REX WHISTLER RESTAURANT, LONDON

With a lot of very nicely chosen producers, it’s obvious that an awful lot of thought has been put into this list, and the fantastic selection of half-bottles was not just academically interesting – it fitted perfectly for a place that majors on lunches. There was a good deal of information, too – and if it was a bit long and, occasionally, opinionated, it certainly had personality.

ROKA, LONDON 

A restaurant with cuisine that is not traditionally wine-friendly needs to show a bit of imagination, and Roka did this. Wines were listed by broad style to help customers make informed selections, while an early page picked out some of the team’s favourite wines and suggested food-matches. ‘I liked the fact that it competed well between £35-40, but had a good list of expensive stuff if you wanted to spend big,’ said Paolo Brammer.

ROWLEY'S RESTAURANT, LONDON

This was just about everything you would want from a restaurant in a pub: compact, clear and well-priced. There were plenty of wine names and varietals that the non-expert would be able to recognise but also a handful of more interesting or unusual wines – Grüner Veltliner, Italian Pinot Nero, Slovenian Pinot Gris and English fizz. Most of the wines were under £25 and performed well at that price, with a few judicious trade-ups. All were very easy on the eye and perfect for the audience.

TERRAVINA, SOUTHAMPTON

As you’d expect from Gérard Basset MS this was a thoughtful and interesting list, with a lot of good, interesting wine sub-£35, and plenty of by-the-glass and carafe options, too. Wines were split by broad style then further by country. There were plenty over £100, but this list knows most of its business is under £50. ‘It’s not trying to make a big splash, but it does what it does very well,’ said Hamish Anderson.

Overall winners will be announced in the September/October issue of Imbibe

Editorial feature from Imbibe Magazine – May/June 2010

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