Review from 'www.decanter.com' article by Fiona Beckett

An award-winning sommelier is putting a booming but decidedly unglamorous English town firmly on the map with one of the most exciting wine lists in the country.

John Gilchrist, winner of last year's Decanter / Mondavi wine by the glass award, has opened a pub-restaurant, the Crooked Billet, in a 16th century pub – a 10-minute drive away from Milton Keynes, UK.

It has long been Gilchrist's ambition to own his own place but Milton Keynes seems an unlikely location. It was developed north of London in the 1960s as a model 'new town'. Intended to be something of an urban utopia, over the years its concrete walkways and rain-stained cement shopping centres have made it a byword for depressing townscapes.

However, the change in ownership five weeks ago has already proved a success with the locals. Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday lunchtimes are already booked three weeks ahead. 'There's no-one else like us around,' says Gilchrist simply. 'Everyone else is doing frozen rubbish.'

Gilchrist sells 12 wines by the glass including a 97 Meursault Chevaliere at £5 (US$8). He intends to build his list up to 250 bottles, topping the total at London's Browns 1837 which won him the Decanter award. His partner Emma Sexton, former head chef at Nicole's, the in-store restaurant at premium fashion shop Nicole Farhi in London's Bond Street, runs the restaurant.

Unlike many restaurateurs, Gilchrist operates a straight cash mark-up which means customers get the benefit of such bargains as Domaine de l'Arlot, Cote de Nuits Villages, Clos du Chapeau 96 for £27 (US$47) and Chateau Batailley 97 for £35 (US$56).

The Crooked Billet will soon have a website, www.the-crooked-billet-pub.co.uk, advertising specialist wine dinners. There are no concrete plans as yet but the first dinner will be with Olivier Humbrecht, one of Alsace's finest wine growers.