The Continuation...
The next bottle of wine, our fifth, and not on our tasting, more a gift, was a bottle of Griotte-Chamber tin 2000, a Grand Cru from Domaine Ponsot.
I am not a true lover of the Pinot Noir but this Burgundy wine was great. It was soft and earthy yet the fruit tones were all present. A nice ‘gift’ from our Sommelier.
The fifth course was a quick taste for me. In an oversized bowl with just a tiny center laid a perfectly poached quail egg, sitting in a black truffle soup with a tiny piece of gold leaf as garnish. 
This plate was nice, the quail egg was perfectly poached with a runny yolk and the black truffle soup was just that. It was as if the chef put a few black truffles in a blender with a small amount of liquid and this black truffle milkshake was the result. Although at the end of the season, the soup was still rich and the perfume was pungent and strong.
The next wine up was the Castello del Rampolla 1995 vintage Sammarco. If you haven’t yet, you should!
Course six was a Braised Ox-Tail - the only plate that escaped the lens of my camera – so, no photo. Basically, it was the same bowl as the black truffle soup. Underneath a Black Pepper Tuille rested three forkfuls of perfectly braised tail meat. The braise was excellent and so was the rest of the dish – very nice.
The seventh wine, second to last on our tasting was the 1988 vintage Brunello di Montalcino Riserva – Poggio al Vento from Tenuta Col d’Orcia. That was an amazing wine!!!!!!!
The final savory course for the night was my favorite from the whole night. Pigeon was the theme here and it went like this…Roasted Pigeon Foot (Thigh, leg and toes) resting on the Seared Breast, Pigeon Liver enriched Reduction Sauce, Potato Tart and Toast with Red Jam.
Like I said, my favorite dish of the night, this plate was good! The pigeon was perfectly cooked, I picked up the leg with my hands and sucked all the meat, skin and sauce right off – it was amazing. The breast was perfect and so was the sauce. The toast was sweet and went will with the potato tart and the sauce. A truly yummy plate, how about seconds!?!
After the main course, the cheeses were brought out. There were three large cutting boards full of Tuscan-only cheeses.
My plate consisted of Crema di Capra, a very soft and liquidy goat’s cheese; Ambro; Stracchino Stagionato, another soft cheese that is normally eaten fresh as this was an aged version; Pecorino Buccia di Rospo, a sheep’s milk cheese; and finally, Toma della Valsassine. All were amazing but my favorites were the super soft Stracchino and Crema.
With dessert on its way, the sommelier brought over our dessert wine, just for a peak as it went right back into the iced water to continue its cooling down. We drank a bottle of Picolit made by Rocca Bernarda from the 1997 vintage. A very tasty wine made from a special grape, Picolit, which is a late harvest style. Very tasty and if available, get it! 
Okay, the desserts basically all came out in a grand orchestra of a mess. First out was a plate consisting of a Chocolate Cream cube with Honey, Roasted Pear topped with Semi-Freddo, a Chocolate Tuille and an Orange Sauce.
The chocolate cube t asted much like a tootsie roll, the semifreddo was the most amazing semifreddo I have ever eaten, the orange sauce wasn’t very good and the chocolate tuille was great. The semifreddo, truly an exceptional experience here at Enoteca Pinchiorri.
Then, from all angles, plate after plate of more sweets was brought to us.
There was a sorbetto – two flavors, each in their own tuille as a base. We had roasted pineapple as one flavor, and mascarpone and goat cheese as another flavor. Both were great.
Then there was the Chocolate Cream with Irish Whisky which was presented as a foam – very tasty with a heavy coffee flavor, not much whisky though. On the same plate there was also a Triangle of soft Spiced Bread with Licorice, and a Pudding of Lavender and Jasmine with a garnish of Rhubarb. All these tastes were good, with the lavender and jasmine combo the ‘weirdest’ of them all. The small Chocolate Coffee Cups were nice, as well as the Tangerine Gelatins. Small chocolates followed and that was our meal.
Throughout the night, I had a great time. At first, I felt like a putz with the borrowed jacket, but after the first few glasses of wine, I mellowed out. The staff that took care of us for the five and a half hours we were there were great.
At one point I remember a young guy coming up with our Japanese server. Our server introduced him as Italy ’s youngest Sommelier and this sommelier tried speaking his ‘dirty’ English with us. It was a great time. Followed was a tour of the wine cellar, one of three I may add, and then back up to pay the bill.
The tasting menu we ordered, the grander of the two offered, was 225 euros per person. The wine tasting was 170 per person. Total – 395 euro per person – the most expensive meal to date for me!!!
With the wines, the sommelier offered the next wine, if we still had wine from the previous bottle, he asked if we would like the glass refilled, or if we would like both glasses for the same course. It was very friendly and relaxed – not as rigid as at Dal Pescatore, where I dined the week after!
Well, as usual, feel free to ask away!
