Punch Lane’s long-delayed Melbourne wine wonderland opens with 150 drops by the glass

Finally opening today after a lengthy delay, Punch Lane newcomer Circl is a place for curious vino-drinkers to broaden their horizons.

There’s a novel-thick list with 150 by-the-glass options and a gorgeous glass-wrapped cellar with 4000-plus bottles, according to head sommelier and venue manager Xavier Vigier, formerly of the Mornington Peninsula winery fine diner Ten Minutes by Tractor.

With “people drinking less, but better”, Vigier says, Circl is out to help democratise wine. Glasses range from $17 to $220, all poured via the specialist Coravin wine pouere. You can opt for reduced pours of rarer wines (such as the Wittmann Brunnenhäuschen riesling) and on Tuesdays, a bottle of “something almost impossible to get” will be opened after it’s announced on Instagram.

Traversing the world’s heavy-hitting wine regions, the list takes an “ultra-deep dive into champagne” and its emerging growers, says Vigier, and dedicates 30 pages to burgundy.

Circl is billed as a “wine-centric restaurant”, not a wine bar, so food is part and parcel. Executive chef Elias Salomonsson (ex-Scott Pickett Group, Vue Group)’s menu covers a lot of ground in a page, weaving his Swedish heritage with broader European influences.

Playful snacks include Circl-branded tins of Yarra Valley Caviar with plump brown-butter crumpets; goat’s-cheese-and-beetroot eclairs; and smoked-eel tarts. More substantial are ’nduja-tossed squid “noodles” and a tri-tip of prized Blackmore wagyu.

March Studio has magicked the former Bar Saracen site into a double-decker with warm copper hues and timber flourishes throughout, and statement burgundy-leather chairs.

Open Tue-Wed 6pm-late; Thu-Fri noon-3pm, 6pm-late; Sat 6pm-late from Friday, August 16.

22 Punch Lane, Melbourne, circlwinehouse.com.au