Ask George: What restaurants have the best wine lists in St. Louis? —William B., St. Louis
It’s a great time to address this question, as several local restaurants just received awards from several different wine publications.
In Missouri, nine restaurants were awarded Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, five of them located in St. Louis. And a solid five they are.
801 Chophouse: The newest local restaurant to receive the award, 801 Chophouse (137 Carondelet Plaza, 314-875-9900, 801restaurantgroup.com), may have had an advantage, as the flagship restaurant in the five-unit chain—located in Des Moines, Iowa—has already won the Best of Award of Excellence. The St. Louis list is 500 bottles strong, with an emphasis on California cabs and Bordeaux-style wines, some of them value-driven selections from South America and Spain, as well as second growths from France.
Annie Gunn's: In his 13 years as wine director at Annie Gunn's (16806 Chesterfield Airport Rd., 636-532-7684, smokehousemarket.com), Glenn Bardgett has assembled an impressive list of 900 wines, many of them moderately priced. His 30-page tome (complete with wine-themed cartoons) is confirmation that a great list will have expensive wines…but not all are expensive.
Gerard's: In his review from 2010, SLM dining critic Dave Lowry had this to say about Gerard’s (12240 Manchester, 314-821-7977): “The wine list? It’s pointless to describe it, save to say if you remember the prepubescent joy of the Sears Wish Book, you have the idea. The stock of great French Bordeaux here is probably unmatched anywhere in the country. Mouton Rothschild. Cos d’Estournel. Margaux. Latour. The names roll off the tongue as beautifully as the wine rolls across it. Note the careful selection of vintages. There’s scarcely a clunker year to be seen. Every one is pitch-perfect.”
Truffles: The wine list at Truffles (9202 Clayton, 314-567-9100, todayattruffles.com) has always been impressive, receiving the Best of Award of Excellence multiple times in its 16 years. But just this week, the restaurant received a World's Best Wine List award at the three-star level (the highest ranking possible) from The World of Fine Wine. General manager Aleks Jovanovic has built upon an existing list deep with established classics, adding an impressive array of esoterics like Xarmant Txakolina Arabako, a superb wine that’s far easier to drink than pronounce.
Balaban’s: This is one of few restaurants in town where you can not only drink an older vintage wine, but also take some home (at retail prices), making the 400-bottle collection of “library wines” one of the more interesting wine options in town. Balaban's (1772 Clarkson, 636-449-6700, balabanswine.com) has California cabs dating back to mid-'80s ($75 to $375), as well as Bordeaux and French Côtes du Rhônes dating back to the early '80s ($100 to $850), some of them 100-point wines. Restaurant customers who buy any bottle at retail price pay only an $8.50 corkage fee in the restaurant, an excellent opportunity and value.
Similar to Balaban’s, patrons at Robust (three locations, 314-963-0033, robustwinebar.com) can purchase any of the 250-bottle collection at retail prices. And over at Bud’s Smokehouse & Grill (1135 S. Big Bend, 314-781-2345) guests can peruse the 1,500 bottles at Starrs wine shop next door and either pay no corkage fee (for wines over $20) or a minimal corkage fee ($8.50 for wines under $20). It’s always more memorable when you can “walk” a wine list rather than simply “read” it.
Another contender is the pair of lists at sister restaurants Elaia (1634 Tower Grove, 314-932-1088, elaiastl.com) and Olio (1632 Tower Grove, 314-932-1088, oliostl.com) in Botanical Heights. Like Jovanovic, advanced sommelier Andrey Ivanov has deliberately seeded the ever-evolving lists with unusual varietals from “Middle-terranean” countries (Mediterranean countries that touch water, according to Ivanov). These wines from Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Slovenia, and Romania parallel the restaurants' regional approach to food.
Obviously, there are other excellent restaurant wine lists in St. Louis. Twelve received Wine Spectator's general "Award of Excellence." Feel free to note your favorite in the comments below.
