Reviews

La Pergola
Drinks plus Bars & Restaurants №5 2008

La Pergola in Rome doesn’t need a special introduction.

It is known as one of the top Italian restaurants, and has held a prestigious status of a dining establishment with 3 Michelin stars since 2006. But La Pergola is known not only through creative signature dishes of its chef Heinz Beck. It also boasts an outstanding wine collection. The wine list and the cellars contain so many legendary names and vintages that La Pergola can certainly claim the title of one of the world’s best wine restaurants.

Chief sommelier Marco Reitano who has worked in the restaurant since its opening in 1994 started from small things. Once his wine list featured only 20 entries, and Marco remembers how difficult it was to persuade famous producers to supply wines. Nowadays, after 14 years, the work of Reitaino and has team do not fail to impress. La Pergola collection counts around 52,000 bottles, and many of them are a dream for a serious wine collector.

The restaurant is housed in a large hotel complex Cavalieri Hilton, thus the issue of space for wine storage doesn’t arise. There is enough space both in the restaurant and in several underground rooms of the hotel. Five thousand bottles are stored in the restaurant (it is located on the top floor). For the whites alone 12 wine cabinets are used. The rest of the collection is divided between several cellars.

The largest storage place was equipped in 1997. It includes several rooms where the constant temperature of 18 degrees and 65-70% humidity are automatically maintained. Reitano believes that ideally the humidity should be a bit higher, but this negatively affects the quality of labels, thus he had to find a compromise. The majority of bottles are kept in original wooden cases. Some are also stored in beehive-patterned cells made from special stone mined in the southern Italy. It supports the necessary level of humidity. Wines are categorized by region, but there are also dedicated rooms for large format bottles, for vertical collections and for rare wines.

The cellar is a small paradise for a wine lover. The basis of the collection is, naturally, built on Italian wines. It includes renowned names of Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto. Leading producers and labels of all Italian wine zones from Alto Adige to Sicily are also represented. Reitano admits that he doesn’t like “monsters” and prefers more elegant, “simple” wines made with white Tocai Friulano, Trebbiano, Verdicchio, Fiano and red Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. This “simplicity” of course doesn’t include straightforward wines, lacking in character. On the contrary, finest examples of modern Italian winemaking are gathered in La Pergola collection and they can be viewed as the country’s signature wines which reflect a great diversity of Italian wine styles.

Alongside the core, regularly renewed stocks of recent vintages in standard bottles, the cellar has many rarities, such as Piedmont wines of old vintages bottled in special format bottles of 3,78 litres (‘bottiglioni’) — Aldo Conterno Barolo Granbussia 1974 or Gaja Barbaresco 1979. Several vertical collections are lying on the shelves. Among them, many will probably find Sassicaia as the most lucrative — it is represented by all vintages starting from 1980. Marco Reitano regularly puts away some of his new purchases for cellaring. It is especially important for Piedmont wines. Chief sommelier finds that they have a much longer evolution potential compared to Tuscany.

As befits a top-class dining establishment, La Pergola wine collection focuses not only on local winemaking, but also includes a range of finest wines from around the world. Great wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne are represented. Some of the most revered labels, such as Petrus and Yquem, are featured in vertical collections. Along with classic and avant-garde European entries from France, Spain, Germany, Austria La Pergola cellar also includes cults (Harlan, Dalla Vale, Chateau Montelena) from California and other New World regions. The chief sommelier wasn’t afraid to include some unconventional entries from Slovenia, Lebanon, India, Uruguay, Canada and even Holland.

Like with the Italian section, this part of the cellar also features rare wines and legendary millesimes, for instance Petrus 1959, Chateau Margaux 1928 and Chateau d’Yquem 1893. The oldest wine is Madeira from 1880 vintage. And the most precious pearl of the collection is highlighted by Reitano as 120-year-old Bordeaux Grand Cru 2-me Classe — Cos d’Estournel 1888.

The list of this monumental collection counts over 3,000 labels and is printed in two wine lists. One is dedicated to white wines, the other — to the reds.

Five out of 64 pages in the white wine list is given to Champagne, including inimitable Dom Perignon 1955. One finds vertical collections of famous Italian spumante made by traditional method. Giulio Ferrari, a top label by Ferrari is represented by vintages starting from 1983. For still whites, the most exciting offers come from Friuli and Alto Adige, among which one can pick wines of cult producers like Josko Gravner. Marco Reitano is also proud of his white Burgundy collection.

The red wine list is just as impressive — firstly thanks to amazing vertical collections of Barbaresco and Barolo by leading Piedmont producers, especially Angelo Gaja. Tuscan wines section also dazzles. The list of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Supertuscan wines, many of which are represented by several vintages, reads like a “Who is who in Tuscany” edition. The list also includes wines of smaller artisanal producers whose wines are difficult to find even in Italy — from Quintarelli in Veneto to Montevetrano in Campania. Rich French collection will be subject of jealousy for many a French restaurateurs. Finest Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone wines are gathered in it, from Chateau Margaux, to Romanee-Conti and Hermitage La Chapelle. There are also wines from other countries in La Pergola, for instance Pingus from Spain and Penfold’s Grange from Australia.

It should be stressed that along with a bounty of great names, both wine lists offer enough wines from smaller, original producers. This once again confirms high professionalism of Marco Reitano and his team who are ready to move along own path and to enrich the guests’ wine experience. La Pergola collection has some wines, especially bin ends, which are not included in the main wine list, but which may be offered to guests as an interesting alternative.

Although La Pergola reputation is built first of all on its superb cuisine, today its success depends on wine just as much. Marco Reitano notes that around 7-8,000 bottles are sold per year, and they may contribute up to a half of total bill, sometimes considerably more. That’s why the restaurant’s management considers the work of chief sommelier and his team of critical importance.

Reitano who started his career as a waiter confirms who much he was helped by support from the chef and the management. Parallel to work he studied in a professional sommelier school and in the mornings — together with chef Heinz Beck (who is also a qualified sommelier) visited Italian producers. Thanks to La Pergola Marco traveled to France and Australia and studied for 2 weeks in the Davis University in California.

At present chief sommelier managers three sommeliers and four assistants. He also tastes wines for Italian wine guide Espresso and is a member of a prestigious independent organization Grand Jury Europeen which united leading wine critics, merchants, restaurateurs and producers.

In the early days, when Reitano was starting the restaurant’s collection, he followed the market, but also had clear goals for future. “Initially we had to feature only famous producers, but with time I could decide to included lesser known estates. There was little support from producers at the start, though we clearly knew that we wanted to have large formats and old vintages in our collection”, he says. Now producers take it as honour if their wines are represented in La Pergola list. Reitano prefers to have direct supplies from producers, but occasionally buys wines at auctions or from private collectors (on condition of impeccable provenance and storage).

The chief sommelier highlights several key factors of successful work. Firstly, strict organization of cellar where each wine has own place and number. Thanks to transparent systematization and computer control, any member of the team can quickly find the required bottle. Information on wine rotation is updated daily. “The most important moment is to be organized before the service”, states Reitano. There is a daily briefing on guests before the restaurant opens. There are about 20 tables, or 65 seats in the restaurant. Tables are booked in advance, usually several weeks before the visit, and there is only one seating per night. Before guests arrive, the front-of-the-house staff has already received certain information about them.

After the guests chose the food, the order first gets to a sommelier and only after that to the kitchen. Thus a sommelier can prepare his recommendations in advance or foresee what type of wine the guests are likely to choose. Marco Reitano believes that strict following of the rules for enogastronomic pairings is not always justified. “A restaurant is not a school. People come here not to be lectured, but to receive pleasure”, he says. If a guest asks for advice, chief sommelier would generally recommend balanced, supple wines which do not contradict the flavours of a dish.

And what are his recommendations for young, aspiring sommeliers? “To get a professional qualification, to use opportunities for tasting wine, to foresee guests’ expectations and to regularly taste and discuss wines included in the restaurant’s wine list”. This is exactly the recipe of success of La Pergola sommelier team.

Maccheroncini integrali con gamberi rossi
Homemade pasta and red tiger prawns with red celery, carrot and tomato sauce, smoked aubergines puree and bread crumbs with garlic, anchovy and capers.
“The wine I suggest for this dish is from the Amalfi coast in Campania, made in Furore village Furore by Marisa Cuomo. The wine is called Furore Fiorduva 2005. I chose this wine because its exotic aromas and rich body combine well with the various Mediterranean flavors of the pasta dish”.