Sniffing and sipping, tasting and testing the wine lists from two bistros with the accomplished sommelier who made the calls. Then sniffing out the best value for the price.
Wine Lists: JL East, JLX
David Sturno, sommelier at the ‘21’ Club, is one of the most respected wine professionals in New York. He is also the consulting sommelier who has put together the wine lists at Jean Luc in New York and locally at JL East, in East Hampton, and JLX, in Sag Harbor. I recently sat down with Mr. Sturno and along with some nibbles and a lot of conversation sampled a dozen or so of the wines served either at JLX or JL East. (The lists do not overlap.) The wines he chose were unfailingly good, some extraordinarily so.
Knowing Mr. Sturno’s reputation, I certainly expected that level of quality. But I was really looking beyond quality. First, since I write from a consumer view, I sought value for the price, whatever the price category. And second, I was curious about the logic and reasoning behind Mr. Sturno’s choices, since a good wine list is not a helter-skelter document but has a point of view.
The sizes of the lists are appropriate to the size and type of restaurants—about 40 wines at JLX and about 75 at JL East. Except for a reserve list, all the wines at JLX are available by the glass as well as the bottle, a terrific idea. With an emphasis on French, Italian and Spanish wines, the choices are well matched to the bistro style of food. The lists, happily, are not predictable and not overburdened with big names. Rather, Mr. Sturno has sought out lesser-priced alternatives to those emblematic trade names. For example, Domaines de Mage, a white wine from the Gascogne region of France, priced at $28 per bottle, compares well with more expensive bottles from neighboring Bordeaux. The taste is full, fresh, and somewhat floral, quite clean and crisp, making it a good selection for summer menus.
A ripe, lush, mouth filling Chateau Cantenac-Brown, a grand cru from the Margaux region, turned out to be 1999. This was not generally a notable vintage in Bordeaux, but this bottle, at $54, was just splendid—proving that if you select conscientiously there are good wines in every vintage. It was a prudent choice when compared to the 2000 Bordeaux wines now showing up on restaurant menus, astronomically priced and not ready to drink. Mr. Sturno’s lists are for wine lovers, not wine snobs. While he has a couple of famous champagnes—not to be ignored at any restaurant—he also offers a Spanish cava, L’Hereu-Brut, that is as dry and tasty as the classic names and at $36 a bottle or $9 a glass, compares to champagnes that might sell for nearly twice that price.
Macon-Milly Lamartine, at $55, is a serious white Burgundy. While I usually hesitate to spend that much for a white wine in a restaurant, I’d definitely splurge on this one. Lafon, the producer, is a famous name in Meursault, in Burgundy, and their newer property in Macon offers great promise. Made from the chardonnay grape, this wine is rich and medium-bodied with well-balanced mineral notes. It is the equivalent of some white Burgundies that you might find priced at $75 to $95 in restaurants. I’d recommend it with any type of seafood.
One of the best bargains at JLX, for my taste, is a Sicilian red wine, Nuhar, made from the native nero d’avola grape blended with cabernet sauvignon, priced at $27 the bottle. While not a major league wine, I’d never have guessed it was from the Sicilian countryside. It really reflects the new Sicily and has none of the rough qualities of the older generation of Sicilian wines. Rather, it is beautifully balanced, svelte, silky and refined, with an enticing bouquet of black cherry, and soft tannins giving it body—just right for relaxed sipping.
Refinement seems to be a theme with Mr. Sturno. The big, brash, fruit-forward tastes of many California and Australia wines get minimal exposure here. Delicacy, balance, nuance, Old World finesse, whether it originates in France or Long Island or California, are the qualities I found most impressive on the lists. The Alain Voge Cotes du Rhone at $36 had that little savory kick that is so nice in a syrah. Cavallotto, an Italian nebbiolo costing $56 was graceful and layered, a Piemontese salute to pinot noir.
The JL East list could benefit from the addition of some simple white wines priced under $30, the sort of wines we typically drink in summer. Chenin blanc is a deliciously versatile grape in the Loire Valley, and a Vouvray from Foreau, a respected estate, exhibited clean, tingly, white fruit with just the right touch of sweetness. I can’t fault what is in the bottle, but $47 seems a big-ticket for a Vouvray.
There are only a handful of Long Island wines, but they are well chosen. Several more might be nice when, in the French bistro tradition, you want a wine produced close to the sources of your food. I’d also love to see a house wine offered at each of the JL restaurants. Something by the bottle or carafe that is gently priced and handy for a laid-back weekday meal when you don’t want to think about choosing from a wine list. I’m sure it is a challenge that Mr. Sturno can solve creatively. It’s also very much in the French bistro tradition.
