In praise of the short wine list

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If it was my last night on Earth, I’d want the wine to be chosen by Daniel Illsley, wine director of London’s Maison François. He has a wicked sense of humour and a knack for knowing – often before I even do – exactly what wine I want. To me, he’s not just a sommelier, he’s a vinous agony aunt.

Illsley’s classy-yet-inquiring wine list made with Joseph Collier for Maison François won best wine list at the UK’s National Restaurant Awards last year. It’s a joy, but there are times when even dedicated oenophiles might find this leather-bound inventory of more than 500 wines too extensive. Those in search of something less biblical should head to Maison’s bustling new “diffusion line” Café François in the arches of Borough Yards, where Illsley has created a more concise capsule wine list, illustrated with his own caricatures. “I wanted this list to feel more casual and immediate,” he says, “a bit like a cartoon or a comic strip.” The menu is subtitled “les vins qui parlent”, or “wines that speak for themselves”.

I wanted this list to feel more casual and immediate, like a cartoon or a comic strip

There are 70 in all – so the list’s not tiny, but it is bijou by industry standards (the international Star Wine List awards classes anything under 200 wines a short list). It’s a great edit, with an almost tabloid-style landing page featuring four sparklers, a dozen whites and reds, a Spanish orange wine and a Provençal rosé; everywhere you look there are sure-fire crowd-pleasers. 

Illsley is a great sniffer-out of new talent; I suspect many of the names on the list will be unfamiliar to most. But the list’s presentation is so engaging that it hardly matters whether you know your Hungarian furmint from your Australian muscat.

And you’d do very well just to stick to the own-label wines (£9-£10 a glass), which Illsley commissioned from a biodynamic producer in Bordeaux he discovered while holidaying on the French coast. The trio includes a citrusy, floral white, a comforting red and a vibrant clairet – an old-style dark rosé/light red bursting with tart mulberry and raspberry fruit, which is served chilled. “There’s a type of trendy sommelier around these days that seems to consider the idea that wine should taste nice a bit bourgeois,” says Illsley. “I like natural wine, of course, but it should still give pleasure.”

Sparkling wine is “very important” – and there are some great grower champagnes such as Egly-Ouriet on the list. The house fizz is served in a vintage-style coupe “so people feel fabulous”. Still wines are served in a cheap-and-cheerful Paris goblet and by the convivial carafe (there are also plenty of magnums, should you choose to go big). 

Food is all about comfort: grilled cheese sandwiches, rotisserie chicken and lobster frites. Standing in for Maison François’s infamous dessert trolley is a glass case displaying éclairs from the on-site bakery.

There are plans, eventually, to start an informal wine club under the title “Café Society”. “The wine list’s a playground,” says Illsley. “It’s got it all going on but in a very small space.” 

@alicelascelles