Classic Bordeaux Backbone, Spokane's Fancy Night Out
Manito · Spokane · French
Reviewed April 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed French Café’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at French Café leans hard into its identity — Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, full stop. It's the kind of list that matches the white tablecloths and candlelight without ever surprising you. If you came for a Grower Champagne or a funky Jura white, you're in the wrong room.
The anchor producers here are serious — Domaine Leroy, Château Margaux, Sassicaia — and that's genuinely impressive for Spokane. But the list reads more like a greatest-hits playlist than a curated collection: three regions, all-stars only, no depth on the bench. There's nothing wrong with Bordeaux and Burgundy as a foundation, but without supporting options from, say, the Rhône, Loire, or even a domestic outlier, it starts to feel like the list was assembled by someone who read one very expensive wine book and stopped there. Gaps in mid-range options make this a list that skews either celebratory-splurge or by-the-glass-and-call-it-a-night.
Eight options by the glass is a respectable number for a room this size, and the $10–$16 range keeps things accessible. That said, we don't have the specific pours confirmed, so we can't tell you whether the glass program reflects the same old-world ambition as the bottle list or just dips into house-level juice. At a place anchored by Leroy and Margaux on the bottle side, we'd hope the glass pours punch above their weight class — but that's optimism, not a guarantee.
Domaine Leroy Bourgogne Rouge — $35
Entry-level from one of Burgundy's most legendary producers — this is the rare case where a 'budget' bottle on a fancy list still carries serious pedigree. At the low end of the bottle range, it's the smartest move on the menu.
Sassicaia
Most diners at a French bistro gravitate toward Bordeaux and Burgundy and overlook the lone Italian superstar on the list. Sassicaia — a Tuscan Super-Tuscan built on Cabernet — holds its own against any Bordeaux on this list and tends to fly under the radar in a French-focused room.
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
At $2,800 on the menu versus roughly $1,800 retail, you're paying a 56% premium for a California cult wine that has zero business being on a French bistro list. It's a vanity listing. Order the Leroy.
Château Margaux + Duck Confit
Duck Confit's rich, rendered fat and crispy skin need a wine with structure and old-world restraint — not fruit-forward firepower. Château Margaux's earthy depth and fine tannins cut through the fat without overwhelming the dish. It's a classic match for a reason.
The Bottom Line
French Café is the kind of place where the wine list does the job without going the extra mile — serious producers, steep markups, and a range that never colors outside the lines. Send a friend here for a special occasion bottle of Leroy or Margaux, but don't expect the list to teach you anything new.
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