Lunaria owner Bernard Jacoupy knows that to...

Lunaria owner Bernard Jacoupy knows that to open a restaurant on the wine-conscious Westside, you have to have a list that offers at least a few older wines, preferably at affordable prices. This isn’t easy for a new restaurant to accomplish. But Jacoupy knew just the place to find a cache of old wines--an Orange County restaurant called Le St. Tropez, which went out of business. He acquired a number of wines from Le St. Tropez’s cellar and almost instantly had a wine list that could compete with some of the oldest places in the city.

To really compete, Jacoupy kept the prices for these older wines so reasonable that you might think you’re in a time warp. Imagine a bottle of 1981 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon for $28; 1981 Chateau Montelena Cabernet at $26; 1980 Burgess Vintage Selection at $28; 1980 Phelps Cabernet at $26.

There’s more. Even though the list is small (80 wines are offered), there is a wide range of styles. A few wines from Alsace and the Loire, for instance, spice things up. Nitpickers might note that there are no Italian wines, no Australian wines, nothing from Germany, and nothing really exotic. In this case, however, there’s no complaint, since what’s here is carefully thought out.

Prices for young wines are just about twice wholesale, rarely more than 2.5 times wholesale. Included in that are Kistler and Ferrari-Carano Chardonnays, a couple of lovely red Burgundies, and some well-chosen Bordeaux. Older white Burgundies (1982s and ‘83s) are at similarly reasonable prices.

For those who can’t find what they’re looking for on the list, the restaurant’s corkage policy is $10 a bottle. Glassware is attractive, service agreeable. All in all, a nice concept.