http://www.labellevie.us/PDF/LaBelleVieWineList.pdf
What are your overall thoughts on this list? Menu is typically a 6-8 course tasting.
I think it is a strange ode to the sommelier’s personal taste with strange pricing on some wines, but loaded with many really solid choices.
I didn’t look too closely, but seems most are priced roughly 2-3x retail. The first thing that raised an eyebrow for me was the Selosse Substance at $375, with the Krug GC similarly priced at $350 and '95 Krug & '99 Salon practically double.
Chris,
La Belle Vie certainly does a whole lot better than most TC restaurants to provide wines off the beaten path. The prices, however, closely hone to a long and unfortunate custom among restaurants in this area who price wines at 2-3x retail/release prices. $225 for a Cayuse Cailloux!?!
Those older Pepe wines are steals…
interesting list, prices aren’t bad.
Some of my favorite wines. Prices seem reasonable.
Don’t like the list overall that much, but how about the Pragers? Seem decently priced for some good wines.
+1
Wish I had that list this past Saturday! Some really nice choices.
It’s not exactly balanced, but there are some good choices in lots of different price ranges.
You had me at “Emidio Pepe …”
A very interesting list made by someone who knows a lot about wine. Assuming this place has a wine tasting menu matched by the Sommelier to go with the food tasting, I would jump on it and expect to be wowed by wines I hardly know.
Is it just me or is there something very strange about this?
Sauternes, Roumieu-Lacoste, Graves 2009 $14/glass $150/750ml
Coteaux du Layon, Pierre-Bise, Chaume,Loire 2002 $12/glass $49/500ml
My overall impression is that the person who assembled the list cares a lot about wine but very little for guests with a ~$50/bottle wine budget, which ought to be enough to get excellent wines in any restaurant. Am I correct that there are exactly two red wines under $50 and one more under $75? Pretty sad. I agree that their wine pairings might be very interesting, though.
Easy must-land spot. I’d buy one from this century too and just go back & forth thru the meal.
Chris,
I know the sommelier, Bill (intentionlly withholding his last name) at LBV personally, and he’s been doing this a long time. he’s also been affiliated with the owner and executive Chef, Tim McKee, ever since the Stillwater days where LBV first opened. Looks like a good list to me.
Quick story… A while ago, I brought my own for an anniversary dinner (90 Trimabch CFE and 90 Beaucastel). I offered Bill tastes of each beforehand because he wanted to ensure that the food would work. He took a sip of the CFE and said, “Oh,yeah. We’re going to have to adjust.” Cracked me up (in a good way).
I’d prefer less breadth by cutting out some fringe areas and more depth in the classic regions. But all things considered, it’s a very nicely chosen list.
I didn’t want to let on why at the outset. But the reason for posting was that they are the sole MN restaurant on the top 100 restaurant wine lists from Wine Enthusiast.
I loved browsing the wine lists. It’s a fun time-killer. By no means all-encompassing, but here is the list.
I couldn’t disagree more, as that is where the wines I would order off this list are, both because of price and because they tend to pair better with food than wines from the.“classic” regions. Assuming the Muscadet is an Ollivier, I’d gladly drink that for $45, as well as many of the Austrians on the white side. On the whole, I think it is a much better list than many that while deeper, are so overpriced that 90% of the items on the list may as well not be there (see the recent Revolution NOLA thread for a good example).
LBV is one of the few places that I throw myself at the sommelier’s mercy. Bill does an excellent job matching picks from the cellar to the dishes ordered. I agree that the list probably reflects Bill’s taste, but also reflects an understanding of the kitchen’s cooking style. And for me, no evening at LBV is complete without one of Johnny’s pre-dinner cocktail masterpieces.
Chris,
I enjoy browsing wine lists too. There’s a restaurant in Chicago that I have not been to yet (that will change soon) that I am desperate to hit because I think the wine list is so geeky cool:
Note: this is just the wines by the glass, bottles/large format/mature are separate pages. I love that the by the bottle list has a separate section for orange wines.
A lot of very odd choices on that WE list