Forbes Five-Star, Zero Excuses, All Bottles
Southwest / Lake Avenue · Colorado Springs · Fine dining, European-inspired contemporary American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 14, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at the Penrose Room arrives like a leather-bound declaration of intent — this is not the place you order the second-cheapest bottle to avoid judgment. The room itself, perched above The Broadmoor's lake with mountain views and the occasional live piano, sets expectations high, and the cellar doesn't blink. Classic European and California heavyweights anchor the list, and it reads like someone actually curated it rather than just calling a distributor rep.
France is the backbone here — Burgundy gets serious attention with names like Domaine Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet on the list, and Bordeaux is well-represented with Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac holding court. California shows up confidently with Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon and Opus One covering the prestige end of the Napa spectrum. The breadth extends internationally, but the list never loses its classical spine — this isn't a place chasing trends, it's a place that knows exactly what it is. If you're hunting for natural wine or low-intervention producers, look elsewhere; this cellar speaks in the language of grand tradition.
Estimated at 15–25 pours, the by-the-glass program reflects the list's overall character — expect well-known, reliable options at prices that match the white-tablecloth setting ($20–$40 a glass). Don't expect a rotating experimental slate; the BTG menu skews toward the approachable end of an otherwise grand cellar. It's a solid program for guests who aren't committing to a bottle, but the real action is in the full list.
Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac — $150–$250
Lynch-Bages punches well above its Fifth Growth classification and consistently delivers the kind of structured, cedar-and-blackcurrant Bordeaux that feels at home in a room like this. In a cellar that runs well into the stratosphere, it's a relative anchor of reason.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet
Most tables in a room like this are ordering Cabernet. The Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet is a world-class white Burgundy from one of the appellation's defining producers — and in a sea of red-wine-ordering hotel dining guests, your bottle will be the most interesting thing on the floor.
Opus One
Opus One is a fine wine, but it's also one of the most recognizable names on any American luxury list, which means it carries a prestige markup on top of an already steep restaurant markup. At a hotel of this caliber, you're paying for the name twice. The Lynch-Bages does more interesting work for less.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon + Prime beef entrée
Caymus Special Selection is a rich, full-throttle Napa Cab with the kind of dark fruit and structure that was essentially made for prime beef. It's not a subtle pairing, but subtlety isn't always what you came to the Penrose Room for.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The Penrose Room is the rare hotel dining room where the wine list actually earns the five-star billing — deep cellar, proper service, and a sommelier who's there to help, not perform. The markups are real and the prices are serious, but so is everything else about this experience.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.