Sky-high views, earthbound markups on the big names
Downtown LA · Los Angeles · Contemporary American
Reviewed June 21, 2026
Wingman Metrics
When a restaurant sits on the 71st floor of a Downtown LA skyscraper, you expect the wine list to match the altitude — and at roughly 1,350 labels, it does. The sheer scale is immediately impressive, and a dedicated sommelier on staff signals this isn't just a list padded out to look good. The room is special-occasion serious, and the wine program mostly keeps pace.
Dig in and the list earns its heft. There's genuine international breadth here, but the most interesting moves are closer to home — Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast get meaningful representation, which is exactly the kind of regional pride a Los Angeles restaurant should be showing. Champagne selections are plentiful and specific, with grower producers like J-M Sélèque appearing alongside the standard prestige cuvées. The depth is real, though the list skews heavily toward crowd-pleasing California Cabernet territory when you get to the higher price points.
Twenty to twenty-five options by the glass is a genuinely strong program, and the $18–$35 range reflects the upscale room without feeling punitive at the lower end. The inclusion of J-M Sélèque Extra Brut Soliste 1er Cru Champagne as a pairing pour shows the glass program has some real thought behind it — that's not a wine most restaurants bother stocking, let alone pouring by the glass. Rotation details aren't well-documented publicly, but the sommelier presence suggests it's curated rather than static.
J-M Sélèque Extra Brut Soliste 1er Cru Champagne — $35/glass
A grower Champagne from a serious Épernay producer by the glass at a fine dining spot in the sky — this is the move. Sélèque doesn't show up everywhere, and getting it as a glass pour while watching the LA basin light up at dusk is hard to beat dollar-for-experience.
Santa Barbara County selections (Central Coast producers)
Most people at a place like this reach straight for the Napa Cab or the Burgundy, but the Central Coast picks are where 71Above actually has a point of view. Local, thoughtful, and almost certainly priced more reasonably than the prestige bottles. Ask the sommelier what they're pouring from Santa Barbara — that's the real list inside the list.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
At $285 against a $90 retail price, this is a 216% markup on a wine that's already everywhere. Caymus is a fine bottle at your local shop; at 71Above it's a trophy pour for people who don't know what else to order. The sommelier will steer you somewhere better if you ask.
J-M Sélèque Extra Brut Soliste 1er Cru Champagne + Rotating seafood entrée (halibut or similar)
The Extra Brut dosage keeps this lean and mineral, and it cuts right through whatever butter or cream situation the kitchen puts on the halibut. Champagne and white fish is never wrong, but a grower Champagne with actual texture makes it something worth remembering.
✔️ The Bottom Line
71Above has the list, the staff, and the setting to be something truly special — what holds it back is predictable fine-dining markup that punishes you for reaching toward the recognizable names. Come with a budget, lean on the sommelier, and stay away from the trophy bottles.
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