Match of the week

Tagliatelle of raw cuttlefish and passerina
Having spent most of our week in Abruzzo inland we seized the opportunity to have a meal at La Barcaccia a fish restaurant on the seafront at Pescara before flying back and this clever dish of cuttlefish ‘tagliatelle’ was one of the crudi (raw dishes) on the menu.
It was served with little finely sliced sweet onion then simply dressed with olive oil and lemon juice and garnished with fresh green chillies which gave it quite a kick (The abruzzesi like their chillies though they’re usually dried)
We opted for an inexpensive white passerina which worked brilliantly with the dish and also with the very gorgeous pasta dish of scampi, clams and bottarga we had afterwards. Passerina is one of the local grape varieties, the others being pecorino and trebbiano though this particular bottle from Pasetti is not available in the UK.

Seabass crudo, Felsina olive oil and Meriggio sauvignon blanc
Given that I’m not a massive sauvignon fan it might surprise you that it features as my match of the week for the second successive week but it’s a question of quality. With the right dish good sauvignon is a joy.
In this case it was a starter of raw sea bass which was drizzled with Chianti producer Felsina’s 2016 olive oil and seasoned with marjoram, lemon and sea salt. And it will probably surprise you less that it was served at The River Café as part of an amazing olive oil tasting and lunch hosted by David Gleave of Liberty Wines.
Although the sea bass, herbs and salt played their part it was really the gorgeous grassy olive oil that showed off the wine, echoing its own herbal notes but bringing out its elegant citrus character as well.
These Tuscan producers only make their oils in very small quantities so you need to reserve them just as you would an in-demand wine. In the UK The Oil Merchant is a reliable source but good Italian delis, department store food halls and larger, posher supermarkets such as Waitrose should stock them in due course too. (Just make sure it's the 2016 vintage you're buying). They won't be cheap but they raise humble ingredients such as tomatoes, good bread and pasta to spectacular heights.
The best price I can find online for the Meriggio which is made by Fontodi, is £16.50 at winedirect.co.uk. Which is roughly the price you'd pay for a good Sancerre.
I attended the tasting and lunch as a guest of Liberty Wines.
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