New on Wine List Confidential: Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack

Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack – Wine List Confidential Score: 88

A wine list that complements the food menu very well – sea for yourself

Refreshingly for a seafood bar and for a list as tight as theirs, the wines are well chosen with a real eye for detail. Unobvious sparkling producers, plenty of zippy whites (classic and otherwise) to pair with seafood. The shorter list of reds are lighter, low-tannin numbers. A joy.

Close friends of The Sampler (they had an oyster bar residency at the wine merchant’s South Kensington store in 2016), they’ve managed to pick out some of the best fish and seafood-friendly whites in their range – including some excellent Burgundy – De Beaumarche Puligny Montrachet (£90) would be a memorable treat at the top end, while Dauvissat Petit Chablis (£70) was positively made for shellfish. Quite a high price for a Petit Chablis, yes, but Dauvissat is the don for the lean, minerally style.

Bonnie Gull provides a bit of diversity with the odd well-chosen bottle from a handful of other suppliers. This is especially the case for the healthy sparkling selection. Cloudy, col fondo Prosecco from Sottoriva would be good as an aperitif or with the simple Dorset clams pre-starter. The Gorondona Txakoli would do much the same job, but with fewer bubbles.

The wine list at the recently opened Soho outpost of Bonnie Gull on Bateman Street has a simpler, but no less interesting list. A couple of highlights there – the Clare Valley Riesling from Ministry of Clouds or the lovely fresh, herbal Malbec/Cab Franc blend from Fabien Jouves in Cahors.

A list that complements the food menu very well. They also keep a small selection of special bottles in their cellar. Ask to see their ‘Little Blue Book’…

To view the full Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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