The Wine List That Has No Ceiling
Yountville · Napa · Contemporary French and Californian tasting menu · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 13, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The French Laundry’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at The French Laundry doesn't arrive — it presents itself. Roughly 2,400 labels spanning every serious wine region on earth, bound in what feels less like a menu and more like a case file on human ambition. Before you've ordered a drop, you already know this place takes wine as seriously as the kitchen takes its nine-course tasting menu.
Burgundy and Champagne anchor the list with genuine depth — we're talking multiple vintages of top domaines, older grower Champagnes like Pierre Paillard's 'Grand Récolte' 2008, and enough Napa royalty (Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Colgin) to make a tech billionaire weep with joy. But the list doesn't stop at the obvious: Alzinger Grüner Veltliner from the Wachau, a 1972 Staatsweingut Riesling, Pyramid Valley Pinot from New Zealand, and a 1952 Cossart Gordon Madeira show a team that genuinely hunts for interesting bottles. The Bordeaux section includes museum pieces — Pétrus 1982, Château Margaux 1945 — that exist less as wine purchases and more as once-in-a-lifetime experiences priced accordingly. Gaps are essentially nonexistent; if there's a region worth caring about, it's here.
Twenty-six options by the glass is a serious program, with pours ranging from $30 to $60 — the Bouisson-Battault Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes at $55 a glass signals immediately that this isn't a house-wine-by-the-glass situation. The selection rotates to complement the tasting menu format, and the sommelier team will steer you toward a by-the-glass progression if you ask — which you should.
Bachelet-Monnot Santenay 2019 — N/A (bottle)
In a list full of four-figure Burgundy, Bachelet-Monnot's Santenay is your entry point to serious red Burgundy without committing your mortgage. It's a producer making genuinely compelling wines at a village level, and at The French Laundry it's as close to a bargain as this list gets.
Jolie-Laide Barsotti Vineyard Gamay 2018
Nobody comes to The French Laundry to order California Gamay. That's exactly why you should. Jolie-Laide makes some of the most interesting low-intervention Gamay in the state, and finding it buried in a list full of DRC and Pétrus is a small act of rebellion worth committing.
Château Pétrus 1982
At $25,000 a bottle against a retail of around $6,000, this is the list's most aggressive markup in absolute dollar terms — a 317% premium for the privilege of drinking it here. The wine is extraordinary. The math is not. If Pétrus '82 is your goal, find another way.
William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru 'Valmur' 2018 + Oysters and Pearls
The sabayon of pearl tapioca with oysters and caviar is The French Laundry's most iconic dish — briny, rich, and impossibly delicate all at once. Fèvre's Valmur is Chablis at its most serious: flinty, mineral, with enough body to stand up to the tapioca's richness and enough acidity to cut right through it. This is the pairing the dish was practically designed for.
The Bottom Line
The French Laundry's wine program is one of the greatest in the country — genuinely encyclopedic, impeccably stored, and guided by a sommelier team that earns its keep. The markups are steep across the board, and there's no getting around that, but if you're spending $425 a head on food, you already made peace with that before you arrived.
St. Helena · Napa · Wine Bar
Elsewhere is doing something genuinely useful in St. Helena — keeping the lights on after dinner and keeping the list interesting enough to justify the detour. We need more time with the actual list before we'd call it a must, but the bones are right.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Napa Valley · Napa · Hotel Restaurant / New American
The Elene is doing something genuinely uncommon for a Napa hotel restaurant: it's built a wine list with a real perspective. Pricing is fair, the whites and sparkling section is worth the visit on its own, and if you're tired of being handed the same Napa Cab lineup every time you sit down, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Napa Valley · Napa · Hotel Bar / Lounge
In the heart of Napa Valley, this hotel lounge has assembled a seven-bottle list with zero local wines and markups that would make a Vegas pool bar blush — order a cocktail and wait until dinner. There are better places to drink wine within walking distance of almost anywhere in this region.
Plays It Safe
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
St. Helena · Napa · Resort Restaurant / Contemporary American
Meadowood's wine program is doing exactly what it should at this price point — a focused, deeply intelligent list with real range and the staff to back it up. The markups are steep because the room is expensive, but if you're already here, drink well and don't second-guess it.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Napa · Wine Bar / Contemporary American
Napa Kitchen & Wine earns its place as a solid, unfussy option for anyone who wants a wide glass selection and fair pricing without committing to a bottle — just don't come here expecting to discover anything. It's a reliable pour, not a destination.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Napa · Napa · California / Hotel Restaurant
BANK is a reliable spot to drink well enough in a comfortable setting — the sommelier presence and Napa-forward list keep it from being a lazy hotel afterthought. Just don't expect to be surprised, and don't be shocked when the markup reminds you this is a Westin.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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