When I walked in last Sunday for a repeat experience with a friend from the US , I was surprised by the menu package offering Grey Goose vodka in the raw as well as in cocktails on an unlimited basis. The higher price of Rs.1200, notwithstanding, vodka or any other +15% alcohol is not my bottle of beverage. So I decided to skip the place till I was persuaded by the restaurant manager to stay back.

I am glad we stayed. We ordered a bottle of Chianti Classico 2003 from Ruffino, imported by Sula, to go with the food . Ruffino is a well respected Tuscan name from Pontassieve and this basic, rudimentary Chianti did not disappoint at all.

It is a pale Ruby red, typical chianti colour wine. Grapes are also typical; Canaiolo 10% and Sangiovese (90%) which adds a spicy touch to the wine flavour. It had an intense and vinous aroma. The medium bodied, dry wine had mild tannins and was very velvety on the palate. The taste of dark plums was predominant. A very pleasant and palatable wine, it also had a good mouthfeel and reasonable after taste.

It was served at about 20° C.  Slightly cooler at 14-16° would have slightly enhanced its flavours.

This wine stood us well through various courses, comprising of salads, various antipasti, pastas and pizzas that came in different flavours-Margherita to the ham pizzas were delicious accompaniments to the wine. The beauty of this wine is that it can be consumed by itself or with most foods, including vegetarian meals, even the cheesy pastas. It would have been a very good match for the vegetable terrine, lamb and chicken dishes as the main courses, that we had no room for, after the unending stream of pastas and pizzas. I won’t recommend the steamed fish of the main course as a food match though.

At Rs. 2200 it is a good value for money wine to order in La Piazza, though Rs.1500 would be a welcome and more affordable price. It is also available at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai at Rs. 1450.  DelWine has already rated this hotel as the best value for money hotel in Mumbai-editor.

For ordinary Chianti it is a very good value retail wine available tax paid at Rs.1045 at the DSIDC wine and liquor shop in Greater Kailash II, behind Savitri, which has become my favourite benchmark for retail. Sula will do well to have it retailed from Shah wines, Mumbai too.

The Sunday brunch with unlimited Chianti Classico Ruffino would be heavenly! I can’t for the life of me figure out the Italian-cuisine/Vodka combo. I guess with the premium vodka (flavour of the season in India and many countries) available perhaps complimentary to the hotel, it must have been an offer Hyatt just could not refuse.

One wishes that some brunches bordering on Italian cuisine offer a comp. wine package with wines like Chianti Classico Ruffino.

Subhash Arora