Eleven Madison Park

The wine list at Eleven Madison Park lands on the table like a small novel — and we mean that as a compliment. Three thousand bottles, a team that actually knows what's in those bottles, and a room grand enough to make you feel like the wine deserves to be here. This is not a list that was assembled by a purchasing committee checking trend boxes.

France dominates at 72% of the list, and it earns that real estate — DRC Burgundies, first-growth Bordeaux, grower Champagnes, serious Rhône from Robert Michel in Cornas and Les Pallières in Gigondas, and old vintages including a 1989 Napa Cabernet that proves this cellar has patience. But the depth doesn't stop at the usual suspects: there's Timorasso from Piedmont (still underrated everywhere else), Eva Fricke Rieslings showing that Germany gets a real seat at the table, New York State wines flying a quiet local flag, and Piedrasassi Syrah repping California without leaning on Napa's biggest names. Austria, Corsica, and thoughtful picks from across the Old World round out a list that clearly has a point of view. The one honest gap is that if you're hunting value-priced everyday drinkers, you're in the wrong room — this list is built for occasions and exploration, not casual Tuesday pours.

EMP has won recognition for best by-the-glass list in New York in 2025, and the program lives up to it — selections rotate with the seasons and span the same serious geography as the bottle list, which is genuinely rare at this level. You're not getting the dregs of the cellar poured into a glass; the BTG program here functions as a proper tasting vehicle for the list's range. Whether you want a grower Champagne to open or a Burgundy to close, there's a real option at every stage of the meal.