Like its sister operations in Melbourne and Sydney, the Rockpool Bar & Grill in Perth is a very special place to drink wine—for the simple reason that its wine list has so obviously been put together by people who love wine themselves.
It’s a list marked by curiosity and catholic taste, but not eclecticism for its own sake: No matter the style, there is a clear stylistic thread running through each of the choices, one that is best described as terroirist, and which demands that drinkability comes before showiness and scale.
Naturally a philosophy of that nature leads to a passion for Burgundy, given full rein here in a long but thoughtful collection of the region’s best Pinot producers, arranged by village and cru, and joined by an extensive collection of their Australian (particularly Victorian), Kiwi, and balance-pursuing Californian peers. But that’s just a part of a superb collection of cutting-edge producers, that follows a mazy path through Piedmont and Tuscany, via Austria, Champagne, the Loire, Greece, and Spain.