Paris in Portsmouth, one crêpe at a time
Downtown · Portsmouth · French patisserie, crêperie, and wine bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 24, 2026
RagingWine reviewed La Maison Navarre’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walking into La Maison Navarre feels like someone airlifted a Parisian side-street café into coastal New Hampshire — in the best possible way. The wine list is short and unapologetically French, which is exactly what it should be. No Napa Cab trying to crash the party here.
The list runs maybe 20 to 40 bottles deep, and every single one earns its spot by flying the French flag. You've got Loire representation with Muscadet and Sancerre, Rhône coverage via Côtes du Rhône, a Bordeaux Blanc for the crowd that wants something a little richer, and a Crémant d'Alsace for bubbles without the Champagne markup. It's not a list that's trying to impress you with length — it's trying to match the food, and it does. The gaps are real: no Burgundy, no Alsatian whites beyond the Crémant, and nothing remotely adventurous for the natural wine crowd.
Eight to fifteen pours by the glass is a respectable spread for a spot this size, and the $10–$16 range keeps things accessible without feeling like a gas station wine situation. We'd expect the Crémant d'Alsace and Muscadet to anchor the glass program — the right calls for a crêpe-focused menu. Rotation cadence is unclear, so ask your server what's currently open.
Crémant d'Alsace — $12
Bubbles by the glass under $15 at a French wine bar is exactly the move. Crémant punches well above its price point and makes every savory crêpe feel like a special occasion.
Bordeaux Blanc
Everyone reaches for the Sancerre when they want a white, but the Bordeaux Blanc — Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon — is consistently underordered and often better value. Rounder, less sharp, and quietly excellent with anything savory on the menu.
Sancerre
Sancerre is great wine, but it's also the most marked-up Loire white in any restaurant's playbook. Unless this bottle is priced fairly — and with bottles topping at $80, there's real risk it isn't — the Muscadet does the same job for a fraction of the price.
Muscadet + Savory crêpe with ham and Gruyère
Muscadet's lean, saline character cuts straight through the richness of melted Gruyère and balances the salt of the ham. It's the kind of pairing that makes you wonder why you'd ever order anything else.
🎲 The Bottom Line
La Maison Navarre is a genuine Wild Card — a French patisserie and crêperie in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that actually bothered to build a coherent, France-only wine list to match. It's not deep, it's not adventurous, but it's honest and well-matched to what's on the plate, and that's more than most places manage.
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