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FLORENCE
ENOTECA PINCHIORRI
I swept in past the statue of Apollo and was at once diverted from my usual route by sommelier Luigi Picca. Signor Picca is from Rome. He wanted to take me on a tour of the cellar. He scampered down the steps with the energy of youth, but was kind enough to wait at the bottom for his less nimble guest. I do not often visit the wine cellars of restaurants – preferring, in my increasing age and decrepitude, to confine my investigations of the wines offered to the turning of the list’s pages, as I sit at my table. But here it was undoubtedly impressive to see the serried ranks of great vintages. 150,000 bottles fill the racks – 50% Italian, 40% French and 10% from the rest of the world.
I could go on and on about the liquid stars clamouring for your attention here – from Italy, 1972 Sassicaia (3,500 euros); from Australia, 1973 Grange (2,500 euros) – but I will content myself with a few words about the noblest of red burgundies, Romanée-Conti. A bottle of 1985 will here cost you 12,500 euros. Now, I know that, as a reader of Bown’s Best, you will be both gregarious and generous. So you will probably want, on your birthday perhaps, to treat a few of your friends to lunch. And here you can order for them a mighty Methuselah (with a capacity of 8 ordinary bottles) of the 1985 Romanée-Conti for 300,000 euros. I believe it to be the only one in existence.
This drinking was done at my table in the corner of one of the restaurant’s elegant rooms. Soft light from a chandelier of Murano crystal illuminated the fine oil paintings on the walls and mingled with the glow from the candles on the pink tablecloths. The waiters in black tie – discreetly marshalled by the dapper young maitre d’ Alessandro Giani – ensured that the napkins of diners who left their chairs for a moment were immediately replaced. This was an atmosphere of comfortable sophistication, and it pleased me to observe that all my fellow diners were dressed very well indeed.
The resulting dishes are miracles of precision and subtlety. Clear flavours are combined in ways which both excite and satisfy the palate. Thus my opening monkfish – filled with anchovies, coated with chopped almonds and served with beetroot purée. This was a brilliant tour de force – tastes and textures both perfectly balanced. And the double ravioli – filled with burrata and guinea hen, and served with parmesan cream – was just as good, an object lesson in how to flatter and caress the mouth. Rack of lamb was filled with dried tomatoes and fatty bacon and came with cauliflower and courgettes, and a white chocolate and coconut mousse provided a delicious and refreshing conclusion to a wonderful meal. These four courses from the carte cost 295 euros. Two set dinners are available (each of eight courses) at 190 euros and 225 euros. These prices are not, of course, low. But for such food in such surroundings, I count them good value. Right-thinking people will, properly, continue to make their way to Florence for its art and for this magnificent restaurant. Both civilized and civilizing, the Enoteca Pinchiorri is an adornment to Florentine culture.
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© Francis Bown 2003
Any civilized person who loves food, wine and restaurants, as well as art (and can a person without all these loves properly be regarded as civilized?), will know that, apart from the churches and palaces bursting with masterpieces of Renaissance art, there is one overwhelming reason to visit the city of Florence – the Enoteca Pinchiorri. Since it opened in 1979, this dining room has been attracting diners from around the world. I have just been back to the 16th century Palazzo Jacometti Ciofi, its home, to remind myself why this stylish and luxurious restaurant has become one of the world’s most important destinations for the gastronomic pilgrim.
Before me were the bottles of which the wine-bibber dreams. Is Pétrus your preferred claret? You can have your choice of 1945 (21,000 euros), 1961 (12,500 euros) or 1982 (4,250 euros). Or do you like Mouton-Rothschild? Again, the finest vintages await – 1945 (18,000 euros), 1961 (8,250 euros) and 1982 (1,650 euros). Or are you one for the elegance of Lafite? 1945 is 6,500 euros, 1961 is 5,500 euros and 1982 is 1,750 euros. Giorgio Pinchiorri has, undoubtedly, assembled one of the most impressive restaurant wine collections on the face of the planet.
My own drinking took me first to Burgundy and then to Tuscany. Mr Picca recommended both bottles, and I was mightily pleased that he did. Into the high quality glasses (a mixture of Riedel and Spiegelau) he poured a 2001 Meursault (J.F. Coche-Dury – 200 euros), which was big, waxy, buttery, toasty and possessed of a wonderfully long aftertaste, and a 1995 cabernet, Lupicaia (Castello del Terriccio - 350 euros), which burst forth with ripe black cherries and soft tannins.
While the Italian Giorgio Pinchiorri has created a remarkable cellar, his French wife – the smiling and exquisitely dressed Annie Féolde – has created a cuisine which fully deserves its three Michelin stars. Together with her chefs, Italo Bassi and Riccardo Monco, she has applied French culinary technique to the gastronomic culture of Tuscany.