Award Winning Wine List
The Cherwell Boathouse wine list has been well known to the wine trade for many years.
The list represents the fruition of the Morris & Verdin partnership between Jasper Morris MW and Boathouse owner Anthony Verdin.
For the wine lover, our reputation is first and foremost for outstanding value for money. The list has a high proportion of famous producers and is exceptional for its rare wines and older vintages.
The Boathouse continues to have a strong relationship with Fields, Morris and Verdin today (now owned by Berry Brothers), as well as other wine merchants such as OW.Loeb, Pol Roger.
The list is managed by restaurant manager Brice Guibert who is always pleased to offer advice and help.
To enjoy some of the older wines to their fullest potential it is advisable to allow time for us to decant and let the wine breath (usually one hour).
Our Wines
The wine list continues to win awards and accolades:
2014 wine list of the year from the Good Food Guide :
“displays the oenological equivalent of perfect pitch. Classicists will love the selection of clarets and burgundies many from great vintages, and there is a fine selction of riesling ….extraordinary value for money especially at the top end …”
2013 Louis Roederer Wine list of the year from Imbibe Magazine:
“The most eye-catching element, for sure, is the pricing. When a tough judge like Isa Bal MS of The Fat Duck gives you 10/10 for value for money (as he did in the first round of judging) you know that this is a place where your hard-earned goes a long way”
The temptation, of course, is to home in on the fine wines, with A-list producers and great vintages at the kind of prices you can only hit if you buy en primeur and have a democratic approach to margins. Mouton 1995 for £350, Ridge Monte Bello 1997 for £160, Comtes Lafon Meursault Perrieres 1989 for £180; this is a sommelier’s wet dream.
And yet, for our final-round judges it was the consistency of this value that pushed it to the front of the pack, with terrifically-priced wines all the way through, from bottles of Louis Roederer Brut Premier at a touch over £60 to a Felines Jourdan Picpoul at £19 and Au Bon Climat’s Santa Maria Pinot for £40. Whether you are on a splurge or on a budget, this is a list that spoils you for choice.
The by-the-glass and half-bottle selections are exemplary, it’s clean, simple to use, beautifully presented and the innovative touches are helpful and encouraging. Offering a flight of three different 35cl sweet wines for £8 was a nice touch, as was listing the fine selection of German Rieslings in ascending order of sweetness.
It’s a list that, quite simply, has no faults. It’s exciting, but not overly long; has personality but is never
self-indulgent, and caters for the wine fan and the novice alike”…
“There’s a fantastic consistency here,” said Studio Alto’s Neil Bruce. “It’s unremittingly excellent.”
“Truly a worthy winner”
2012 Louis Roederer Best value wine list of the year from Imbibe Magazine.
2010 Louis Roederer Fine wine list of the year from Imbibe Magazine.