Pasta with truffles and chardonnay

Although chardonnay is grown practically everywhere that grows grapes (with notable exceptions such as Bordeaux) it’s not a variety you may associate with Italy. But the country produces some fine examples and Isole e Olena’s Collezione Privata is one.

I enjoyed the 2014 vintage last week at a preview for a swish new Italian restaurant Margot which is being opened this week by Paulo de Tarso the former manager of Bar Boulud and Nicolas Jaouen, formerly of La Petite Maison.

De Tarso recommended it as the pairing for a lavish plate of casarecce with topinambur (Jerusalem artichoke) and truffles that my friend had ordered and I lusted over although she generously swopped plates half way through. Butter, cheese and truffle are a perfect foil for great chardonnay.

You can buy the Collezione Privata from a number of indies including D & D Wine though note that prices vary considerably from £31(the D & D price) to £40

Margot is at the Covent Garden end of Great Queen Street so is ideally situated for pre- and post-theatre eating. It’s quite spendy so it will be interesting to see if they do a prix fixe given the competition they face around there in the form of Balthazar, Frenchie and Angela Hartnett’s Cafe Murano but I suspect their USP will be service and glamour rather than price. (If you look at the home page of their website you’ll see why!)

I ate at Margot as a guest of the restaurant