Since opening its doors in its original home in New York’s Mayfair Hotel, Sirio Maccioni’s Le Cirque has been one of the world’s most influential restaurants. A fine-dining institution now housed, since 2006, in the city’s Bloomberg Restaurant, it has been the starting point in the careers of many of the USA’s best chefs. Today it retains its status under executive chef Raphael François, who has refined Le Cirque’s style of elegant, understated classical cuisine.
The judges at the World’s Best Wine Lists awards were impressed by the way the wine choices at Le Cirque fit so neatly with the restaurant’s ethos. A collection of classic names, it has breadth and depth without being exhaustive and exhausting. Vintages are well chosen, and there are particular strengths in Italy—reflecting Maccioni’s roots in the country. But there is also a willingness to embrace lesser-known regions such as Lebanon or Irouléguy in southwest France, as well as an inviting by-the-glass offering that includes both good-value selections and prestigious bottles such as Château Léoville Las-Cases 2006.