List Summary

Across the restaurant world the wine lists of Alan Ducasse restaurants have a reputation for being thorough and are recognised in particular for their fluid and innovative presentation. The list at Spoon is reassuringly immaculate and shows a committed approach to offering a genuine one-of-a-kind wine list in Hong Kong.

Since Spoon’s ‘Evolution’ (the marketing term they’ve coined to the latest re-furb./re-launch) a couple of months ago the list has shifted from a smallish list, over half of which was from the rest of Europe and the New World to a list with more focused French tilt. Made up of approximately 550 wines the French regions represent 70% of the list while Italy and then the rest of Europe offer extra variety. When it comes to the new world wines you’ll see a good spread which is thoughtfully chosen while the presentation gives you the geographical references of each wine.

In terms of innovation – Spoon’s list shows no more than a sensible approach to offering something fun and different. For example the wines by the glass are served in a carafe format easily shared between two while they are pouring some if their wines from larger formatted bottles – the jeroboam (equivalent to four bottles) or magnum. A great way to try wines throughout the meal, some of which are not available elsewhere in Hong Kong.

From the bottle list, with a return to more French focused list there are a couple of little nuggets in the classic regions of Rhône, Burgundy and even Bordeaux hard to find on other top restaurant list – Including Château Saint-Roch in Lirac – a Southern Rhône wine of a rustic nature, in this case spicy and rich but bright and elegant- think Châteauneuf-du-Pape but with more Syrah and Mourvèdre than Grenache. Or from Bordeaux, Château Sociando-Mallet is good to see – a small but very well regarded producer in the generic AOC of Haut-Médoc, the wines are anything but generic offering a truly distinct Bordeaux which stands shoulder to shoulder with the famous Châteaux at a fraction of the price.

Here’s Spoon’s problem – the prices are generally pretty obscene really, one of the, if not the most expensive lists in Hong Kong. At WineChap we would, in general be more scolding of this blatant show of disrespect to the consumer but it is somewhat reconciled by the unique and consistent offering.
At your service, the head sommelier Nicolas Deneux will reassure you with his friendly and knowledgeable approach and hopefully the ‘Evolution’ under his guidance will see the prices drop down a few notches so more of us an enjoy the unique wine experience at Spoon.