The Chanticleer Restaurant & Gardens
Rose Cottage Exterior, Serious Cellar Inside
Siasconset · Siasconset · Farm to Table, French · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
You walk into a rose-draped cottage on Nantucket and half-expect a Cape Cod greatest hits list — Riesling, some light reds, call it a night. Then the wine list lands and it's 400-plus bottles deep with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Château Pétrus sitting right there in black and white. This is not a beach wine list.
Selection Deep Dive
The French anchors here are serious: Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet, Domaine Leroy Burgundy, and Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin represent Burgundy at a level you'd expect in a proper Paris brasserie, not a Siasconset garden. Bordeaux gets the same treatment — Château Léoville-Las Cases and Pétrus signal that sommelier Antony Uspu isn't curating for the faint of wallet. California shows up with conviction through Ridge Monte Bello, Kistler Chardonnay, and Opus One, rounding out a list that earns its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence credential honestly. Gaps exist — the Southern Hemisphere and anything natural or low-intervention are essentially absent — but that's a stylistic choice, not an oversight.
By the Glass
Twelve to eighteen pours is a respectable program for a restaurant of this size, and at $15–$30 a glass you're not getting house-plonk filler. The range tracks the bottle list directionally — expect French-leaning options with a California accent — though the BTG selection doesn't climb to the same trophy-level heights as the cellar. Rotation details are sparse, but with Uspu running the floor, there's reason to trust whatever's open.
Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin — $60-$90 range
Faiveley's Gevrey is one of the most reliably honest values in Burgundy — structured, earthy, properly village-level Pinot Noir without the Grand Cru sticker shock. In a list where bottles climb into the stratosphere, this is the move for someone who wants real Burgundy without a cardiac event at checkout.
Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon
Everyone eyes the Pétrus and Opus One but Monte Bello is the sleeper. Ridge's flagship from the Santa Cruz Mountains is one of the most age-worthy, intellectually interesting Cabernets made in America — routinely overlooked in favor of louder Napa names, and almost always the smarter order at the table.
Opus One
Opus One is a perfectly fine wine doing a very expensive job of being famous. At Nantucket restaurant markup it becomes a monument to brand recognition over value. The same money spent on LĂ©oville-Las Cases or even the Ridge gets you more wine and more conversation.
Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet + Local Nantucket Bay Scallops
Ramonet's Chassagne-Montrachet has that tension between richness and mineral drive that makes it perfect with sweet, delicate bay scallops. The wine's texture flatters the scallops without steamrolling them, and the saline undertow echoes the island setting in a way that feels almost too convenient.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The Chanticleer is the rare destination where the wine list matches the ambition of the setting — serious French depth, California credibility, and a sommelier who actually knows what's in the cellar. Prices run steep, but you're on Nantucket drinking DRC-adjacent Burgundy in a rose garden, so adjust your expectations accordingly and order well.
Comments
Get the Weekly Wingman
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.