List Summary

Sketch's list is a salve for cynicism. It refreshes our belief in humanitys (or at least sommeliers) earnest desire to strive for excellence and individuality, whilst not forgetting that the worlds less fortunate also deserve to drink reasonably. Dotted throughout the Lecture Rooms showy list there are some extremely inexpensive bottles (starting at £16) which snootier restaurants (mentioning absolutely nobody really quite close by) might shun like ones socially and physically maladroit provincial second cousins at the races. However, this is an impeccably-mannered list; condescending to accept the vulgarity of ones inferiors is far less vulgar than ones exclusion of them.

The opening short list (by the glass selection) is an impressive mission statement and one initially wonders if sommelier Fred Bruges can possibly maintain the intensity of elegance (and eloquence) throughout.
Of course we love having tasting notes for the 8 mineral waters offered although why not go to town and list something like the 9-stage filtered Bling h20 (40 retail) for fun. Come on its Sketch after all! If anyone will buy it, it will be here. Its great to see Palo Cortado by the glass and how can you not want to hug a list that offers glasses of 1850 Madeira (at 122) with the note The year Balzac died and Lizst conducted the Premier of Lohengrin was a great one for Verdelho.
In fact the whole by the glass offering is peerless with dainty 100ml options offered alongside more generous 175ml measures. For 44 you can have small glass of Fonseca 77 probably the least anyone will ever have to pay for a 100 point wine (Wine Spectator, Jan 08).

Champagne is an undoubted strength with the more exotic cuvees of favoured Marques intertwined with top independent grower wines. They are obviously working to tight margins because the majority seem, if not affordable, but fairly-priced.
Almost as if Fred cannot bear to leave Champagne, the whites list starts refreshingly with a trio from the Coteaux Champenois before heading in to a respectable if generally rather young Burgundy selection, punctuated by a few well-priced jewels.

White Bordeaux gets a nod and then we are in to an engaging and affordable Loire section with Chenin Blanc refreshingly well-represented among the Sancerres/PFs and top-end Dagueneau library with which it concludes. Concerning the rest of France, the most judicious choices and best value are from the Jura and Savoie, Provence and Corsica, and the South West in particular.
Italy and Spain offer more generic choices from well-established boutique producers and then are lean but fine choices from Germany and Portugal. The fabulous and oft-overlooked dry whites of Hungary get a brief acknowledgment with three listings from the peerless Istvan Szepsy. Notable from the rest of the world is Australias homage to Giaconda at the top end and the listing of Bernard Magrez unusual Koshu Isehara from Japan.

Red Burgundy and Bordeaux are unusually but refreshingly organised price ascending, rather than by any regional sub-division and this makes sense: Most of us have in mind an approximate wine-spend so it is more convenient to have all of those in preferred bracket listed together rather than searching through multiple sections. Choices from the Loire are excitingly esoteric and well-sourced and both the Southern Rhone and Languedoc and Roussillon selections are particularly extensive with some good value options.

Italy, like a Huntsman suit from The Row opposite is slim-fit and individually tailored, with recognition of the greats but some more recondite choices for the cognoscenti. The Spanish selection, whilst not inexpensive is worth looking at, especially for the peppering of trendy Priorat wines and the almost wicked glee concluding the tasting note for Pingus first vintage, the US allocation of the 95 was lost in a shipwreck.
South Africa and Chile offer the best value options from the small New World list and Argentinas three choices are devoted to Fabre Montmayous fine Malbecs.

The list concludes with a strong choice of Dessert wines, magnums and larger formats still, wrapped around one of Londons most extensive selection of half-bottles.