Burgundy royalty above Grand Central
Midtown · New York · French
Reviewed April 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Centurion’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Centurion arrives like a statement — thick, deliberate, and anchored by names that belong in a private cellar, not a restaurant tucked above a train station. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Château Pétrus, Domaine Leroy — this is not a list assembled casually. Wine Spectator handed them a Best of Award of Excellence in 2025 and the program earns it on sight.
The 400–600 bottle list leans hard into France — Burgundy and Bordeaux are the twin pillars, with depth that goes well beyond the obvious appellations. Champagne holds its own with Krug Grande Cuvée and Bollinger anchoring a serious category, while Italy shows up credibly with Sassicaia and Tignanello for those who want to stray from the Loire. California makes a respectable appearance via Kistler Vineyards and Opus One, though this is clearly not the list's spiritual home. What's notable is the curatorial intent: every region here feels deliberate, not padding.
Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is a generous pour program for a room operating at this level, with prices running $18–$45. At the top end you're getting access to producers — like Domaine Faiveley and Bollinger — that most restaurants would never risk opening by the glass. Rotation cadence is unclear, but with sommeliers Robert Longo and Ralph Dorcin running the floor, expect the glass list to get some actual attention.
Domaine Faiveley Burgundy — $18–$45 by the glass
Faiveley is a serious Burgundy house that often gets overshadowed by the DRC conversation — but their wines consistently punch above their price point. By-the-glass access to Faiveley at this price range is one of the smarter moves on this list.
Tignanello
Most tables here are laser-focused on Burgundy and Bordeaux, which means the Italian section gets slept on. Tignanello — the Tuscan blend that helped define Super Tuscans — is exactly the kind of wine that deserves attention on a French-forward list, and the crowd ignoring it means you might actually get a conversation going with the sommelier about it.
Opus One
Opus One is a reliable crowd-pleaser with name recognition that restaurants love to mark up accordingly. At a room operating at this price tier, you're almost certainly paying a significant premium for the label. The Bordeaux section on this same list offers more interesting drinking for the money — go there instead.
Château Margaux + Rack of lamb
Château Margaux's elegance and dark fruit structure is the textbook match for a properly prepared rack of lamb — enough weight to stand up to the meat, enough finesse not to bulldoze it. At Centurion, with French technique in the kitchen, this pairing is about as dialed in as it gets.
The Bottom Line
Centurion is the kind of wine program that justifies the Midtown price tag if you come in with clear eyes about what you're paying for. If you're serious about Burgundy or Bordeaux and want a room that can actually talk to you about the list, this is the play.
Midtown · New York · French Brasserie
La Grande Boucherie earns its place as a reliable stop for wine in Midtown, especially if you're leaning French. The glass list is genuinely wide and has some smart picks buried in it — the Fleurie and the Wiemer Riesling both punch above their price points. Markups trend steep as you climb the bottle list, so your money works hardest in the by-the-glass section. If you're here for the brasserie experience, the wine program holds up its end of the deal.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Steakhouse
BLT Prime's wine program is glass-only, which limits your options if you came for a big bottle moment, but the pricing is honest and the selection is more thoughtful than most steakhouses bother with. If you're keeping it casual and ordering by the glass, you can drink well here without feeling taken advantage of — and that's not nothing in this city.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
The Palm Midtown is not where you'd expect to find Puzelat and Ruth Lewandowski sitting next to each other on a wine list — which is exactly what makes it worth a second look. Six bottles is a short menu, but all six are defensible picks at prices that don't insult you. If you're in the mood to trust the list and not overthink it, this works.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murray Hill · New York · Classic American Steakhouse
Wolfgang's is a reliable steakhouse wine experience in the sense that you know exactly what you're getting: a list built around the bottle you already know, priced for the room you're sitting in. If you're here to close a deal over a Porterhouse for Two, the wine list will do its job without embarrassing anyone — but it's not going to surprise you, and it's almost certainly going to cost more than it should. Go in with eyes open and a strong second-choice red in mind.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Mediterranean
Zaytinya's wine list is a rare thing in New York: a focused, regionally coherent program that commits hard to Greek and Eastern Mediterranean varieties without making you feel like you need a flashcard to order. The by-the-glass selection alone — 18 options, all under $18, featuring producers most wine lists wouldn't touch — makes this worth visiting even before the food arrives. If you eat here and order a Cabernet, that's on you.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Italian
A long bottle list with Italian, Burgundy and Champagne sections, fronted by a 22-wine glass page. For a glass, try the Skerk Orange Wine from Friuli at 25/95, and for a bottle on a lighter budget, the Volpaia Vermentino at 60; upstairs in the café, the labeled list pours Palistorti di Valgiano's orange Tuscan blend at Glass $22. Confirm prices before you order, because the site's Upstairs Café dinner menu and the beverage PDF do not match. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
River Market · Kansas City · French
A French-led list with 25 two-price wines up front and a long run of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rhône bottles behind them. Start with the Chinon Le Garenne at 42 or the Cornas 'Granit 60' at 88, ask which number is the glass price, and confirm prices, since the page is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Union Square · San Francisco · French
A 66-page list that starts with a 20-pour glass page and moves quickly into Burgundy, Rhône and Bordeaux bottles priced in the hundreds and thousands, so decide early whether you are drinking by the glass or committing to a bottle. Start with the $20 Chablis or the $23 Corsican red, and confirm today's list because it carries no print date. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Meatpacking District · New York · French
A French wine list with a wide price ladder: $16 glasses, $40 half bottles and $60 full bottles at the bottom, Pétrus and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti at the top. Start with the $16 Famille Coulon Rhône white by the glass, or spend $115 on the Marcel Deiss Alsace pinot noir, and check prices because the two PDFs show different bottle prices for Delos. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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