Opening just 12 times a year, and on each occasion catering to a mere eight guests, Daniel Crespi’s Leijontornet has a novel approach to opening-hours. But this self-styled Stockholm “power restaurant,” like its sister venues, The Burgundy, Djuret, and Pubologi, is no gimmick. The judges at The World’s Best Wine Lists Awards couldn’t vouch for the food, none of them having had the pleasure of joining the “96 lucky souls” that pass through Leijontornet’s doors each year. What they could say is that, on paper at least, the wine list is seriously impressive.
There are great wines dotted throughout a list that is particularly strong in Burgundy. But it was the section on Champagne that really stood out, earning Leijontornet the inaugural award for Best Champagne & Sparkling List in Europe. This is a list that treats the récoltant-manipulant with the same respect as the Grande Marque, that offers a range of older vintages, and which is clearly the work of someone who loves, and has strong opinions about, Champagne.
From Cédric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne La Bolorée 2005, to Salon 1982; from R&L Legras Cuvée St-Vincent 1996 to Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru 2002 and Henriot Cuvée des Enchanteleurs 1990, via affordable bottles from Barnaut and Delamotte, and the glitz of Krug and Dom Pérignon, if you can get a table, Leijontornet is a Champagne-lover’s playground.
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