<a target="_blank" href="https://www.67pallmall.com/">Tuscan Dinner @ 67 Pall Mall</a>

67 Pall
Mall

St.
James's

London SW1Y
5ES

BY NEAL MARTIN&nbsp;|&nbsp;MAY 26, 2023The Food:

Scotch Burford Brown egg, MacSween
haggis &amp; piccalilli

Glazed Delica pumpkin, gnocchi,
pickled squash, sorrel &amp; sage

Apple crumble with vanilla ice cream

The Wines:<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>1982
 Isole e Olena Cepparello</td>
 <td>90</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2001 Soldera – Case Basse
 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva</td>
 <td>97</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2010 Costanti Brunello di
 Montalcino Riserva</td>
 <td>96</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2010 Montevertine Le Pergole
 Torte</td>
 <td>97</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2007 Castello di Ama Chianti
 Classico</td>
 <td>91</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2007 Valdicava Brunello di
 Montalcino</td>
 <td>94</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2007 Valdicava Brunello di
 Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</td>
 <td>91?</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1988 Tenuta San Guido
 Sassicaia</td>
 <td>96</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1997 Antinori Solaia</td>
 <td>92</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2012 Ornellaia</td>
 <td>90?</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2009 Fèlsina Vin Santo del
 Chianti Classico</td>
 <td>95</td>
 </tr></tbody></table>

 You might have noticed already, but Antonio
and Eric handle Italy. I’ve heard they do a pretty good job. I’ve got my hands
full with Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc., which precludes me from enjoying the
country's bounty of wine. When I commenced my career, I tasted Italian wines
regularly. However, I rarely ventured to any of its wine regions except for my “honeymoon”
in September 2005, where we based ourselves near the town of Greve. I use quotes
around that word. My daughter was disrupting life in the blissful way that babies
do. I have two abiding memories of that trip connected with aromas. First,
Marco Pallanti at Castello di Ama noticed that my six-month-old bundle of joy had
pooped her nappy. Hey, great timing, kiddo. Without hesitation, Pallanti whisked
the tot out into an adjoining room to change it while I continued to work through
his latest releases. Somehow, I doubt that would happen in Bordeaux. Second, a
very different odor, that of the intoxicating perfume of fresh black truffles
as we walked into Greve one market day. 

Therefore, when I was invited to join
a Tuscan-themed dinner in the private room at 67 Pall Mall, I eagerly accepted.
I wanted to reacquaint myself with Tuscan wines and placate my palate, which was protesting
that it wanted to taste anything other than Cabernet or Pinot Noir. The bottles
were deeply impressive and showcased Tuscany at its best.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1685111114838-67+pall+mall+burford+egg.jpg">Scotch Burford Brown egg, MacSween haggis &amp; piccalilli 

I have eaten at the private members’
club 67 Pall Mall virtually since the day it opened its doors. The standard of
cooking has definitely improved in the last couple of years. (I remember
drinking La Tâche with a burger, but as nice as the burger was, it didn’t feel
right.) I kept it simple on this occasion as I wanted to focus on the fermented
grape juice. The Scotch Burford Brown egg, MacSween haggis &amp; piccalilli is
arguably their signature starter. It never fails to delight, the haggis
marrying perfectly with the runny yolk of the brown egg and the piccalilli
lending a touch of spice. It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, and I’ve just never
tired of it.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1685111149300-67+pall+mall+pumpkin.jpg">Glazed Delica pumpkin, gnocchi, pickled squash, sorrel &amp; sage 

I decided to go vegetarian on this
particular night. The glazed Delica pumpkin, gnocchi, pickled squash, sorrel
&amp; sage was a perfect foil for the Tuscans. A deceptively simple dish, it
was perfectly executed and stuffed with flavor. The pumpkin was sweet and
lightly seasoned, the picked squash lending edge and the sorrel and sage adding
a balancing spice touch.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1685111179373-67+pall+mall+crumble.jpg">Apple crumble with vanilla ice cream Finally, the apple crumble with
vanilla ice cream was, again, just perfectly executed with the right amount of
acidity to balance the sweetness.

Now to the wines. After a magnum of 2010
Dom Pérignon, for which I failed to write a note, we arranged the first
quartet of wines. This was a mightily impressive flight and perhaps set a standard
impossible to follow.The 1982 Cepparello from
Isole e Olena has a slightly timeworn yet captivating nose, with layers of
mulberry and raspberry coulis, albeit with an acetic note lurking underneath.
Yet it has retained focus and developed nuanced licorice and balsamic notes
with time. The palate is medium-bodied with tart red fruit on the entry. It is
slightly angular at first though it coheres with aeration and evolves a
quasi-Médoc finish, holding in rather than compelling.&nbsp;I am fortunate to
taste many of the world’s most iconic wines, but Soldera is a producer with whom
I have scant experience. The 2001 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva from
Soldera is blessed with a heart-stopping nose as if the aromas wrap their
loving arms around your senses, so warm and inviting with its disarming
pastille-like red fruit tinged with blood orange and bunches of violet,
earthenware and lavender surfacing with time. Sensual saturated tannins, silky
smooth in texture with astonishing depth, frame the palate. Perfectly balanced
with a fresh and delineated finish that becomes Burgundian with time. This wine
is clearly still in ascent after 22 years. The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
from Costanti shows a slight reduction on the nose, with a mixture
of red and black fruit, a background scent of tomato vine and freshly-picked
wild mint. It’s slightly meaty on the entry with a touch of licorice and
aniseed. You have to admire the structure and focus of this Brunello as it
manifests more and more complexity on the minerally-rich finish, as if catching
up with the 2001 Soldera served in the same flight. This is a classy Brunello
that deserves another couple of years in bottle.&nbsp;The 2010 Le Pergole
Torte from Montevertine surveys the heavyweights in the flight from
the likes of Costanti and Soldera and says, “Bring it on.” It elicits the word “wow”
on the nose, equipped with breath-taking purity and killer delineation and
focus, aromatics piled high with dark berry fruit, pinecones, cedar, a hint of Valrhona&nbsp;chocolate
and punnets of freshly picked strawberry. The palate is medium-bodied with
slightly grainy tannins, layers of black fruit mixed with white pepper and
clove, harmonious and cerebral on the finish. This fabulous, multi-faceted
Tuscan wine will give 20 or 30 years of drinking pleasure. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1685111256883-67+pall+mall+soldera.jpg">The first flight was always going to
be nigh impossible to match. Though the second flight was more variable, these
wines did not feel like some kind of comedown. 

The 2007 Chianti Classico from
Castello di Ama is a wine I remember tasting when first released. It proves
you don't have to shell out a ton of money to find long-lasting Chianti. It is floral
on the nose with iris and peony infusing the overripe strawberry scents, light
cedar notes percolating up with time. The palate is actually better than the
nose with vibrant red fruit, tart with finely-sculpted tannin and a judicious
touch of spice towards its finish. This is drinking perfectly now. The 2007
Brunello di Montalcino from Valdicava offers dark berry fruit,
hawthorn and loamy scents on the nose, a little introspective in style but opens
with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a touch of
balsamic infusing the red fruit, dark cherry and boysenberry. It’s a bit tight
on the finish suggesting that it may well benefit from another couple of years
in bottle. The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano is
more complex on the nose compared directly with the regular cuvée, offering
scents of dark plum commingling with star anis&nbsp;and cedar. There is a sense
of sophistication to these aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with a lovely
structure, dark chocolate and espresso. Great depth, but upon reflection, I was
not "moved" by this Brunello as I expected and oddly found more charm
with the regular cuvée.&nbsp;Perhaps there are better bottles out there?The final flight of reds shifted
towards Super-Tuscans. 

The 1988 Sassicaia is a
vintage that I have not tasted for many moons. It is sublime, albeit not one
for those seeking the horsepower of the 1985. Showing little maturity in color,
it has a divine bouquet, classically styled, almost Médoc-like with dark berry
fruit, wild strawberry, cedar and a splash of espresso. Say 90% Bordeaux and
10% Tuscany? The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, beautifully
balanced and fairly understated in style, restrained even. Yet it conveys
unerring weightlessness in the mouth allied with a sense of composure and
stylishness. Very Bordeaux-inspired on the finish, this sublime Sassicaia is
drinking perfectly now.&nbsp;The 1997 Solaia is a wine that I remember
made a huge splash on release (I recall buying dozens of cases from Switzerland
to ship to Japan). It had been many years since I last tasted it. Poured from
magnum, I find a little smudged on the nose compared directly with the 1988
Sassicaia. This is a voluptuous, heady bouquet with Maraschino cherries, pine, pressed
iris flower and cassis, with cherry liqueur evolving in time. The palate
follows in a similar character, sweet and a little confit in style, with melted
tannins, kirsch, cassis fruit and a dash of allspice. It fans out nicely on the
finish, though I find it just a little hedonistic for my liking. Others who
prefer that kind of style will like it more than myself.&nbsp;There is
something almost anachronistic about this Solaia that I did not discern in the
1988 Sassicaia. The 2012 Ornellaia was perhaps a little overawed by the
mature Solaia and Sassicaia in the flight. Pretty backward and unresponsive on
the nose, I find this a bit simplistic by comparison, with blackberry and
bilberry aromas and a touch of VA. The palate is medium-bodied with dense
tannins, muscular at the moment, moody and surly towards its grippy finish. I
wanted to shout, “Lighten up, man!” Maybe it is going through a dumb phase?&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1685111277480-67+pall+mall+solaia.jpg">One dessert wine to finish actually
came from two bottles. The 2009 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico from Fèlsina
has a seductive nose with fig jam, quince and burnt honey, all well-defined
with a subtle Aszú element. The palate is thickly textured and mellifluous, its
power counterbalanced by the acidity, orange rind mixed with Seville orange
marmalade towards its unctuous finish. This is drinking perfectly now, but it
should age another 10 to 15 years.&nbsp;What a fabulous finish to any
Tuscan-themed dinner. 

These wines deepened my appreciation
for Tuscan wines. No, I won’t be applying to take over coverage – I think
Vinous has that covered. But I did make a mental note to drink more wines from a
magical region tied up with many fond memories.<div></div>© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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