Brickell's Bordeaux and California Power Play
Brickell · Miami · American, French · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 7, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Lafayette Steakhouse’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Lafayette lands with weight — physically and symbolically. A 300-500 bottle program anchored in California Cabernet and Bordeaux tells you exactly what kind of restaurant this is: somewhere that takes the steak as seriously as the wine that goes with it. The art-forward, architecturally dramatic room in the heart of Brickell sets expectations high, and the list mostly delivers.
California and France are the twin pillars here, and they're built thick. You'll find Opus One, Stag's Leap CASK 23, Ridge Monte Bello, Silver Oak, Caymus Special Selection, and Jordan all sharing real estate with Chateau Margaux, Lynch-Bages, and Leoville-Barton — that's a credible Bordeaux section by any measure. The depth is real but it skews heavily toward crowd-pleasing icons; if you're hunting for anything outside Napa and the Left Bank, you're going to feel the walls close in quickly. Wine Spectator handed them a Best of Award of Excellence in 2025, and looking at the list, it's deserved — this is a serious program, just not a particularly adventurous one.
With 20 to 40 by-the-glass options, Lafayette is more generous than most steakhouses at this price point. The pours likely mirror the bottle list — California-heavy, Bordeaux-leaning — which means solid options but not much room for spontaneity. We'd love to see a few more rotating selections to keep the program from feeling static.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $60–$80 (est.)
Jordan consistently overdelivers for its price tier. At a restaurant where Opus One and Margaux dominate the upper shelves, Jordan is the move if you want serious Alexander Valley Cab without the four-digit hangover.
Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot
Everyone in a steakhouse wants Cab, and Duckhorn Merlot gets overlooked for exactly that reason. It's a shame — this is a genuinely complex, age-worthy wine that holds its own against any ribeye on the menu and typically prices out more reasonably than its Napa Cab neighbors.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus Special Selection is a fine wine, but it's also one of the most heavily marked-up labels in American restaurant programs. You're paying a premium for a name that every table in the room already knows. The juice is good; the value equation at restaurant pricing is not.
Chateau Lynch-Bages + Steak
Lynch-Bages is everything you want from a Pauillac with a great cut of beef — structured tannins, cassis, cedar, and enough acidity to cut through the fat. It's the classic combination executed at a restaurant built specifically for it.
The Bottom Line
Lafayette is a steakhouse wine list done right — deep in the regions that matter for big red meat meals, stocked with names that earn their reputations, and serious enough to land a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in its first year. The markups are real and there's no sommelier to guide you through it, but if you know what you want, you'll find it here.
· Miami · French Brasserie
La Grande Boucherie Miami is a Champagne list wearing a restaurant costume — deep on grower producers, light on everything else, and priced like it knows it has you cornered. If you are here specifically to dig into a blanc de noirs from the Côte des Bar or split a bottle of Larmandier-Bernier ($190/bottle) over dinner, this is genuinely one of the more interesting Champagne programs in Miami. Everyone else should order the Chablis and move on.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Miami · Seafood Steakhouse
Truluck's Miami isn't a wine destination — it's a seafood restaurant that happens to have eight wines on a menu. If you're here for stone crab or a special occasion dinner, you'll find something adequate to drink, but you won't find anything to get excited about. Order a cocktail or bring your own expectations down a notch.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
South Beach · Miami · Asian
Lucky Cat Miami is currently closed according to its official website, which describes a seasonal pause. Bookings are unavailable, so do not plan a wine visit on the basis of this page's earlier recommendations. Check the restaurant's own notice for any reopening update.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Coral Gables · Miami · Italian
An Italy-first list built around Piedmont and Tuscany, with a four-vintage Burlotto Barolo vertical, three vintages of Sassicaia and a 16-bottle Brunello section plus special-vintage Brunellos. Start with a Coravin pour or a quartino, then ask for bottle prices, because this version of the list posts none and carries no printed date. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Miami · Miami · Italian
A long, Italian-first list where Barbaresco, Barolo and Brunello each get their own block and several producers list multiple older vintages. If you want a safe Tuscan red by the glass, ask for the Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico 2020; if you want something stranger, ask about the Zidarich Vitovska, and ask the price either way because none is posted. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups. The list carries no printed date, so confirm current availability.
Jungle Island · Miami · Mediterranean Beach Club
A glass-first list with a top end that reaches Barolo at $29 a glass and Dom Pérignon at $95. Order the Bico da Ran Albariño with the Grilled Octopus, or ask about Sunset Hour for the $8 AIX Rosé: its menu says Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 pm at the bar and lounge, but the homepage lists Tuesday as closed and the Beach Lounge as closed Monday and Tuesday, so check before you go. Confirm prices before you go, since the PDFs carry no printed date. This unrated guide covers the posted glass list and Sunset Hour menu, not service, storage or markups.
Midtown East · New York · American, French
A Park Avenue restaurant whose posted wine list is a 21-wine glass list. Start with the $18 Leitz Riesling or the $19 Ogier Saint-Joseph. No bottle list is posted online, so ask the restaurant what is available by the bottle. This unrated guide covers the posted glass list, not service, storage or markups.
College Hill · Providence · American, French
A Cabernet-heavy list from autumn 2025, with glass pours from 10 and bottles up to a 450 Opus One. Start with the 10 Château du Petit Thouars Cabernet Franc, or the 16 Fontanafredda Nebbiolo if you want something from Piedmont, and check that the list is still current since it is marked September 2025. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Dupont Circle · Washington · American, French
Start with the Minuty Prestige rosé at 20 or the Château de Saint-Cosme Syrah at 22 by the glass, and save the Dagueneau for the table that wants a bottle. The glass page is the cheaper way in, with thirteen wines between 20 and 34. The file is linked as 9-26, so confirm today's pours and prices. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or retail markups.
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