Top 10 London wine lists by range

How does one assess the quality of a restaurant’s wine list? Wine List Confidential uses a simple 100-point scale, scoring restaurants on the key aspects of their wine offering – from pricing and service, to the range, size and originality of the selection – then using this data to create an overall score for every restaurant reviewed.

This top 10 focuses on restaurants which have scored highly for the range of wines they offer. So what does ‘range’ encompass?

A list will naturally score highly here if there is a good spread of countries and wine styles from across the world, but then so may selections which focus on wines from a single country, showing a depth and complexity within a narrower template.

A particular regional focus and strength is a plus point here, as are perhaps in-depth listings of particular producers or tempting verticals of iconic domaines.

Lists which show a singularity and clear stylistic choices made, as opposed to adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach, will get a thumbs up here too.

Of the 350+ London entries on Wine List Confidential, in the pages that follow we present the top 10 based on range…

10. L’Etranger

A huge list which starts off as it means to go on with Burgundy legend Domaine Leflaive on its first page. That’s accompanied by Corton from Faiveley, Meursault from Comtes Lafon, a Kistler single-vineyard Chardonnay and Château Mouton-Rothschild 1996.

This is a ballsy first few shots that show the ambition of the list. After that there are verticals of Ruinart Champagne (many in magnum), Krug (magnums again, and Clos du Mesnil), plus Dom Pérignon, Salon and Cristal. A staggering selection of Champagne.

Oceans of Bordeaux and the already-mentioned Burgundy await, while there are also serious Australian selections from McLaren Vale and Coonawarra, along with Argentine Malbec.

To view the full L’Etranger Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

9. Céleste at The Lanesborough

Another hotel behemoth, with Bordeaux verticals galore, deep and incisive Burgundy domaines with plenty of Domaine Leflaive to pile into, and shimmering New World listings like Grosset’s Rieslings from the Clare Valley.

Dessert listings are plentiful, with by the glass selections including Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 2005. Be warned, however: the wallet needs to be fat, with some of the mark-ups looking particularly punchy.

To view the full Céleste Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

8. Social Wine and Tapas

This split-level Marylebone bistro, bar and wine shop boasts a dynamic and searching list led by sommelier Laure Patry.

From the first listings of sparkling wines it’s clear that this list isn’t fumbling: Bride Valley from Steven Spurrier, Francis Boulard’s Brut Nature Champagne, and artisan Cava from Franck Massard. Glass listings are particularly eclectic, taking in everything from Catalunya to Hungary, via the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.

The Loire leaning reflects the sommelier’s background, which includes her own bottling of white and red Anjou, ‘Clos de L’Elu’, and there are several wines by the glass that are exclusive to the company in the UK. There’s also a substantial list on Coravin – which allows Patry to serve DRC by the glass.

Grown-up without being snooty, this is a very confident list at what is another hit of a venue within the burgeoning Jason Atherton empire.

To view the full Social Wine and Tapas Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

7. The Wine Library

Let’s say HOORAH to an old-fashioned wine bar with good cheese and excellent terrines.

This is a wine shop and bar where you can browse at your leisure and pluck something from the shelf.

An Aladdin’s Cave of delights and the scene of many a boozy lunch (returning to the office is ill-advised).

Please note that for the wine picks below, corkage of £9.50 should be added to each bottle price.

To view the full Wine Library Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

6. 67 Pall Mall

The number one venue overall on Wine List Confidential, though we should point out straight away that 67 Pall Mall is a members’ club.

If you are a member you’ll have access to an unrivalled list of wines, all of them sold at an eminently sensible price, and all expertly curated by Master Sommelier Ronan Sayburn.

This masterly list is crafted “to excite, challenge and captivate” the club’s members, its amazing diversity and depth made possible thanks to 67 Pall Mall’s extensive sub-basement cellars, which allow it to hold thousands of cases of the finest and rarest wines in the world on the premises.

Pricing is a fundamental consideration and works on the basis of a small cash mark-up, rather than a multiple of the cost price.

Members make their wine choices on a searchable list on iPads which is packed with winemakers’ notes, tasting notes and critics’ scores.

A section of Sommelier’s Recommendations presents an ever-evolving list of the crack sommelier team’s favourite wines. This section gives guests immediate access to an edited selection of wines from 67 Pall Mall’s 5,000 bin cellar.

In addition, a massive 500 wines are available by the glass, including such drops of gods as Château Latour 1961, Harlan Estate 1997 and Sassicaia 1985, as a small sample or full glass thanks to Coravin technology.

To view 67 Pall Mall’s full Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

5. Outlaw’s at the Capital

A behemoth of a list that rewards a long, lingering read, and even manages to fit in a Serbian wine.

A great ‘Sommelier’s Selection’ picks out Peter Pliger’s Silvaner from Alto Adige, Croatian wine from Cosset and Levin’s ‘Madame L’ Gamay from the Loire.

The Bordeaux selection is particularly deep, with verticals aplenty, including Château Tertre Roteboeuf, Château Pavie, Château Trotanoy, Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, and Château Léoville-Las-Cases. Spätburgunder from Meyer-Näkel in Baden, heads up a good German red section.

Diners should also look ask about the restaurant’s beer selection, with Outlaw being one of the early ambassadors for craft beer in a restaurant setting in London.

To view the full Outlaw’s at the Capital Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

4. Galvin La Chapelle

Francophiles will be delighted with this list at the third restaurant from likeable and charitable chef brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin, with Burgundy and ready to drink Bordeaux being particularly strong.

There’s a great Rhône selection, including, perhaps unsurprisingly given the name of the restaurant, a Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ vertical selection reaching back to 1952 from Paul Jaboulet, if expense accounts or the mood to splash the cash takes a grip.

Devised by group wine buyer Andrea Briccarello, the landscape-format list, which begins with a quote from Paulo Coelho, boasts around 50 wines available by the glass, including Soave Classico ‘Calvarino’, Pieropan poured from magnum, as well as 14 available by the 475ml ‘Pot’ (475 ml).

To view the full Galvin La Chapelle Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

3. Le Gavroche

Unsurprisingly the stalwarts of Bordeaux and Burgundy are given major coverage with plenty of properly mature vintages, if you have the luxury of wading into these.

There are plenty of good value options among the icons on the list, such as vintages of Le Soula Rouge, Pinot Gris from Leon Beyer and Vouvray Sec from Loire growers Catherine and Pierre Breton.

To view the full Le Gavroche Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

2. Bleeding Heart

With a wine list credited as ‘one of the best in the world’ for the past two decades by Wine Spectator, Bleeding Heart has boasted one of the largest collections in London for some time, with plenty to stir the interest of wine aficionados.

Owner Robert Wilson also owns Trinity Hill winery in New Zealand, which is represented in depth.

Bordeaux is strong, as is Burgundy and the Rhône, with well-judged picks from North America and Italy adding further colour and intrigue.

To view the full Bleeding Heart Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

1. The Greenhouse

This Mayfair mews restaurant – which is currently in second position overall on Wine List Confidential – is feted as having the largest wine list in London – running to over 3,800 labels.

The supermodel of a collection from start to finish is curated by sommelier Elvis Ziakos. On it, cool oceans of Chablis include a startlingly large François Raveneau vertical, which would add citrus zip to classically-trained chef Arnaud Bignon’s subtly Asian-influenced, French-rooted dishes, including wild turbot with golden matcha tea and cauliflower.

Burgundy listings are, overall, eye-poppingly exciting, with older vintages of these and iconic Bordeaux in plentiful supply. The huge listing of Penfolds Grange dating to 1961 must be one of the largest in existence. A list that struts with its chest puffed out and head held high – pretty much peerless.

To view the full Greenhouse Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here