Top 10 London Cora-venues

There aren’t many recent on-trade trends that can match the impact of Greg Lambrecht’s Coravin, the argon-loaded handheld wine dispensing system launched in 2013.

The company’s achievements over the past three or so years make impressive reading – and indicate that there is plenty more to come from this little device.

The announcement of around £18.1 million of additional equity financing in 2016 was just one highlight of a monumental 2016 for Coravin as a company, which included the launch of two new devices – the Model Two Elite and Model One; new and strengthened retail and commercial partnerships in the US and Europe; expansion of availability to over 50 countries; and recognition by Fast Company as one of the world’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2016 in Food.

“Coravin’s entry into the wine industry was a catalyst for a fundamental change in how wine enthusiasts are able to taste and experience their favourite bottles,” Frederic Levy, Coravin’s CEO, said at the time.

There is little doubt that the device is integral to the by-the-glass revolution that continues to take place in London’s best restaurants.

Just as Enomatic machines opened up fine wine appreciation to a whole new audience in the early noughties, so Coravin has given the average gastronaut access to wines that would otherwise be completely out of range given the general fierceness of restaurant mark-ups (that’s not to say everyone is sipping 125ml of DRC when they dine out – these icons are still absurdly expensive, even in sample quantities, yet they are accessible to those who really wish to taste-test the myth).

The restaurants featured in the pages that follow have been chosen because they have been among the most enthusiastic adopters of the Coravin since its launch. In some cases, the device has allowed the venues to add not just a small selection of high-end wines by the glass, but extensive ranges. Even, in one case, an entire list.

Such radical steps would not be possible without this little device. Praise be to spinal therapy research (for such is Greg Lambrecht’s background, which led to him developing the surgical-grade, Teflon-coated needle so central to the Coravin’s technology) for what has been made possible.

In the pages that follow, db presents its top 10 London venues making best use of Coravin…

Les 110 de Taillevent

Few can match Les 110 de Taillevent for commitment to wine discovery, with its total of 110 wines by the glass (70ml or 125ml) from a total of 360, all dispensed by Coravin.

As one might expect, the modern bistro, located in a former Coutts banking hall – although minimalism must have been the brief to designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who also helped revamp The Savoy Hotel – pulls strong focus on La Belle France.

Diners with expense accounts will encounter a grand tour of ready-to-drink Burgundy and Bordeaux, including relative bargains such as 1996 Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru – arguably the best liquid possible to heighten the experience of the epic veal T-bone scented with lemon thyme – and 2004 Haut-Brion, both priced close to retail price.

More modestly financed civilians meanwhile may enjoy the lower prices of the considerable listings from the Loire Valley, South West France, and mountainous Jura and Savoie, including Domaine JF Ganevat’s generous of flavour ‘Rien que du Fruit’ Chardonnay – a must with a langoustine ravioli with basil and citrus-spiked butter, which 14th-century chef to Charles V of France, Guillaume Tirel (nicknamed ‘Taillevent’) might be proud to see under his nomenclature.

Outside France, the ‘World Wines’ section of the list takes in an impressive catalogue of names from Spain, Italy (where good value Super Tuscans such as La Massa jostle alongside hallowed magnums of Ornellaia), and liquid celebrities from west coast US, with very much a lighter focus on Germany (just one, albeit well-priced, bin is held, in fact), as well as perky and plush offerings from Greece, Cyprus, South America, and South Africa (try Klein Constantia’s noble Vin de Constance with four puddings in one, ‘Remembering Our Childhood’).

To view Les 110 de Taillevent’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

HKK

The intriguing list overseen by wine manager Rebecca Coates and Hakkasan group buyer Christine Parkinson is adventurous and quite playful here at the group’s flagship. Laid out under titles such as ‘Terroir: a sense of place’ and ‘Purity: the expression of the fruit’, the succinct list is ordered from light-bodied to full, with a ‘Signature: wines of Hakkasan’ showing the ever-presents on Hakkasan’s list.

Exciting selections by the glass with some iconic wines makes for a playground if the pockets are deep. Ridge Chardonnay by the glass? Polish Hill Vineyard by the glass? Thierry Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin by the glass? Yes please. There’s also a page devoted to fine sake.

As reported by db in September 2016, HKK has taken to bold step of making every wine on its list available by the glass, a move made possible by the venue’s adoption of Coravin and which should encourage more people to get to know the impressive diversity of wines the export sommelier team has to offer.

To view HKK’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

M Restaurant

This in-your-face, massive, dark of decor, split-level City hybrid features two restaurants, a cocktail bar, and wine tasting balcony with wine dispensers, as well as a resident DJ. The gastro-nightclub was founded by former MD of Gaucho, Martin Williams.

Compiled by wine director, Zack Charilaou (also ex Gaucho) the main list compiles slick wines from six countries, of which over 50 are offered by the glass. Note, most, if not all, appear very sheer in price. You will, for example, pay £2 more than the retail price of a bottle of Colomé Estate 2012 Malbec per glass in this venue (£16.50) plus optional service charge, of course.

The good range of more affordable white South Africans might work better with the ‘Raw’ food section, featuring starters such as smoked wagyu tartare, or even kangaroo tartare, for example.

The separate ‘Icon List’ features celebrity-grade bottles, such as Kistler, Dominus and Screaming Eagle from the USA, Caro from Argentina, and top Bordeaux (Petrus 2005) and Burgundy (Romanée St Vivant 2005, Domaine de la Romanée Conti) from France. All of these wines, of a total of 115 by the glass, can be bought by the taste.

Charilaou is currently in the process of refreshing the list so that it will have even more of a Coravin focus.

To view M Restaurant’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

Avenue

Of all the D&D restaurants, Avenue is the one which has championed Coravin the most. Following its relaunch in 2014, it was also one of the first restaurants to adopt the device.

As part of the D&D stable of restaurants, Avenue is always going to have a deep well of wine options to draw from. The venue’s American theme is emphasised by a canny theme of the Judgement of Paris – the revelatory 1976 blind tasting in which Steven Spurrier pitted some of the most celebrated wines from France against wines from a selection of boutique producers in California – and in which the Americans came out on top.

The list takes this story as its starting point. Embrace the theme and dip into wines from Heitz Cellar or Ridge; Pinot, Cabernet and Chardonnay from the US and France are naturally well covered. Wines are listed according to grape with section for ‘Other Distinguished’ whites and reds from less common grapes.

More than 20 wines are available by the glass, including a nice little selection of ‘Reserve’ reds available as 75ml or 125ml – giving diners the chance to dabble in, for instance, San Andreas Fault 2012 from Hirsch Vineyards, a Château Clarke ’89 or Viña Tondonia ’94. Avenue is also trialling wines on tap, and it’s good to see decent drops starting at just £5 for a 175ml glass.

There’s also D&D’s Mondays Love Wine promotion to tempt you out at the beginning of the week – with a selection of wines available at retail price flagged up at the top of the list.

To view Avenue’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

28-50

The expert sommelier team, led by Clement Robert MS, in their own words, like to keep things ‘simple’, offering ‘a range of 15 red and 15 white wines by the glass, carafe and bottle’, adhering to the philosophy to ‘only serve wines we like, that are interesting, drink well and offer good value’. This may include a 75ml serve of game-changing 1993 Sassicaia, or 250ml glass of ‘London Cru’ Bacchus from the UK – the list changes all the time.

Whether it’s the subterranean City of London outpost on Fetter Lane, or the venues at Marylebone or Maddox Street, 28-50 is something of a wine embassy destination for oenophiles.

Particularly interesting is the ‘Collectors’ list offering unusual and mature wines, sold on behalf of friends of the restaurant.

To view 28-50 Fetter Lane’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

The Remedy

‘Relaxed, friendly, a bit geeky’ is how The Remedy describes itself. There’s a clear aim to show the great bounty of characterful wines being made by small-scale, artisanal producers around the world.

It’s done in an entertaining way too – on the list, rosés are described as ‘Reds cavorting as whites’ and are followed by orange wines, described as ‘Whites emulating reds’. Champagne comes with an explanatory subheading that says simply ‘Yes’.

Whites are headed under ‘Quench’, ‘Cleanse’ and ‘Nourish’; reds as ‘Quench’, ‘Whet’, ‘Entice’ and ‘Feed’.

Much sympathy with natural and low-intervention winemaking is evident throughout the list, which is updated every week or two.

The Cellar options are pretty compelling and – here’s where Coravin has helped The Remedy to innovate – are all available in half bottles (dispensed by Coravin) for half the list price, giving you a chance to dip into such great wines as Hubert Lamy ‘La Princée’ Saint-Aubin (£75), Dauvissat ‘Vaillins’ Chablis ’09 or ’12 (both £90), Bernard Maume’Belle Croix’ Nuits-St-George 2004 (£68) and Corbineau ‘Beaulieu’ Chinon 1989 (£85).

There’s a superb range of Pereira D’Oliveiras Madeiras, magnums of Testalonga and one of the most impressive lists of orange wine in London.

‘Monday Night Fever’ is a bold attempt to draw people in on the most punishingly drab day of the working week when The Remedy offers 12 wines by the bottle at a 50% discount, while there is always a chalkboard full of intriguing by-the-glass option to choose from.

Also very salutary is The Remedy’s ‘Oyster Happy Hour(s)’, weekdays from 4–6pm and all day Saturday, when you can enjoy gorgeous oysters for just a pound a pop with, perhaps, something from the generous list of grower Champagnes.

To view The Remedy’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

Bar Boulud

Bar Boulud is a wonderful place to drink good wine, particularly if you’re a Francophile. As with its sister restaurant in New York, the cellar at Bar Boulud London is replete with the best drops from chef-proprietor Daniel Boulud’s favourite wine making regions, the Rhône Valley and Burgundy (he’s from a little village close to Lyon) – regions ordered under the headings ‘Les Déscouvertes’, ‘Les Classiques’ and ‘Les Légendes’.

A team of top sommeliers, led by head somm David Vareille, is on the floor and all have a genuine enthusiasm for quirky wines, as well as those from the New World, so while the French classics dominate, there are progressive elements on the list too.

Helpfully, there are short ‘Les Cousins’ sections which present Rhône and Burgundy-style wines (white and red) from other regions of the world. These are definitely worth a look – Crystallum Clay Shales Chardonnay from South Africa tops the white Burgundy-style list, while there’s an extensive selection of Burgundy-style Pinots, including the delicious and very polished Thörle Saulheimer Spätburgunder from Rheinhessen.

It’s also a pretty dynamic list – it’s ‘Seasonal Selection’, which is emphasised by the restaurant’s monthly masterclasses, focuses on a different winemaking region every three months, serving an enviable selection of wines from the selected region by the bottle and carafe.

Bar Boulud has been an enthusiastic adopter of Coravin, so you’ll see a good selection of icons available by the glass – Garrus Rosé (£36 for 125ml), Baron Thenard Montrachet 2008 (£95 for 125ml) and Angélus 2008 (neatly, £125 per 125ml), for example. The BTG list otherwise extends to a generous 30 or so wines.

Monsieur Boulud’s adoptive US also gets decent coverage here, while there is a good number of magnums available if you’re looking to ‘supersize’.

To view Bar Boulud’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

Portland

The list at Portland, while brief, is packed with intriguing drinking options, representing the finest artisanal producers, wherever in the world they might reside.

Co-owner Will Lander (also co-owner of Wine List Confidential standout Quality Chop House) is the son of wine world imperatrix Jancis Robinson MW. It shows. Not for nothing was the QCH’s list named Europe’s Best Short Wine List by the World of Fine Wine in 2014.

The wine list changes monthly, with around 50 labels at any one time. Clearly organised under the headings ‘Textbook’ (pleasingly Partridgean), ‘Special’ and ‘Leftfield’ (the latter broken down in to single-bottle examples of ‘Orange Wine’, ‘Skin Contact’ and ‘Oxidative’), the list allows diners to try almost everything by the glass.

That ‘Special’ section is made possible by Coravin, which allows Portland to offer such scintillating wines as Nicolas Perrin Condrieu by the glass.

A separate single-bottle list represents a diverse bunch of some of the more famous names and historic vintages. This is a thrilling collection offered at a generous margin to the diner – eg, 2001 Vouvray Marc Bredif for just £65 and 1998 Château Balestard claret for £58.

To view Portland’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

Pollen Street Social

Led by the talented and charismatic Laure Patry, the Pollen Street Social list oozes with a quiet confidence.

Its own bottling of a Loire white and red, from Laure’s home town, is an excellent way of beginning to explore a list that kicks off with a strong Champagne selection and then moves through the gears with broad, sweeping brush strokes that will keep any wine lover busy for a while.

As well as having a smart selection of red, white, orange, sparkling, rosé and sake available by the glass, the Social also boasts a dedicated page of top-end wine available in 75ml, 125ml and 175ml glasses, giving wine lovers the option of dipping into some stonking wines like Huba Szeremley Keknyelu 2000 from Badacsonyi, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1986, even Romanée-Conti Echézéaux 1995.

A list to keep on the table as you dine.

To view Pollen Street Social’s Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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

67 Pall Mall

In Coravin terms, if not in wine terms tout court, perhaps the daddy of them all, though we should point out that unlike the rest of the entries in this list, 67 Pall Mall is a members’ club. If you do have a couple of grand spare, it’d be well spent!

Members of 67 Pall Mall have access to an unrivalled wine list, all of it at an eminently sensible price, all expertly curated by Head of Wine Ronan Sayburn MS. He is assisted by a team of nine other full-time sommeliers.

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 sample measure or glass, including such drops of gods as Château Latour 1961, Harlan Estate 1997 and Sassicaia 1985 – thanks to Coravin technology. That’s a lot of argon capsules…

67 Pall Mall also acts as a distributor of Coravin for its members (naturally Coravin founder and CEO Greg Lambrecht is one of them).

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

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