Wine list of the week: Il Palagio at Four Seasons Firenze

Douglas Blyde visits the Four Seasons in Florence for a taste of executive chef Paolo Lavezzini's cooking at the "gastronomic daydream" that is Il Palagio. Florence is a living theatre of art and excess, where every corner has been painted, sung about, or chiselled into eternity. But even in this gilded setting, the Four Seasons stands apart: a Renaissance palazzo enfolded by the city’s largest private park. “It seems made to host the Anglo-Florentine elite that [Henry] James evoked in novels like The Portrait of a Lady,” wrote Lee Marshall in Condé Nast Traveller. At its heart is Il Palagio, the hotel’s sanctum, where executive chef Paolo Lavezzini presides over a menu which reveres Italian tradition while reinterpreting its rules. “Italian by heart and Brazilian by soul,” as Michelin, which bestowed a star, describes him, Lavezzini spent years refining his craft in São Paulo before bringing that sensibility to Florence. “A great interpreter of Italian cuisine, and above all seasonal,” Firenze Made In Tuscany proclaimed. In The Times, Matthew Bell was taken by his artistry, describing how he “turns slices of tomatoes into air-dried sculptures and fuses flavours like peach, sage, and almond.” Then there’s the wine, handled with poise by head sommelier, Walter Meccia. A man whose credentials are as polished as his stemware, Meccia was named on Forbes’ 40 Under 40 in the wine industry – a recognition which TripAdvisor’s Kyle F saw fit to note: “A big shout out to the sommelier, who truly deserved his awards.”

Design

There are restorations, and then there are resurrections. The Four Seasons Florence, housed within the Palazzo della Gherardesca, is the latter – a triumph of preservation, vision, and exquisite indulgence. Built between 1473 and 1480 for Bartolomeo Scala - Lorenzo de’ Medici’s scholar-diplomat – the Palazzo was among the first urban villas to reject the city’s clamour for the serenity of country estates. Alberti’s theories of suburban grandeur were brought to life here: a home which was both a fortress and a retreat. Renaissance artisans graced its halls with frescoes, bas-reliefs, and trompe-l’œil trickery – each inch a declaration of taste, wealth, and power. History has made a habit of repurposing such places. The estate became a convent, then a cardinal’s residence, then a repository for dynastic ambition under the formidable Della Gherardesca family. By 1901, it was officially deemed a national treasure, though like all grand old things, it needed new patrons to stop the rot. Enter Four Seasons, which in 2001 embarked on an ambitious ongoing restoration, overseen by Pierre-Yves Rochon. Few restorations manage to capture the essence of a place while refining it. This is a Florentine masterpiece in motion, where history does not sit still, but unfurls with each passing guest.

Drinks

Not only a fanatic of wine, but chocolate, too, Walter Meccia, assisted by Cosimo Massaro and Francesco Moradei, presides over a vast cellar blending classic prestige with modern flair. By the Spiegelau Definition glass, options span from Tarlant Brut Nature champagne from the Marne (€30) to Adega do Vulcão’s cement-fermented Azorean Ameixambar 2021 (€22), Frescobaldi Gorgona 2023 (€45) - an island wine made in collaboration with inmates - and the 2018 debut of “Dalla Valle & Ornellaia DVO” (€170), a once-secret Bordeaux blend from California. Meccia curates an extensive champagne selection, weaving in Plénitudes of Dom Pérignon alongside rare vintages from Selosse, which he recently visited, Egly-Ouriet, and Billecart-Salmon. The list peaks with Krug Clos du Mesnil 2008 (€5,000) - one of 22 wines from the year the hotel opened - and 2013 La Côte Aux Enfants Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru (€2,200). Lovers of metodo classico will find a well-chosen Italian contingent, including Nicola Gatta Arcano 180 Lune Nature Riserva (€270) from the easternmost pocket of Franciacorta. Still wines range from the idiosyncratic Tenuta Dettori 2006 Chimbanta Monica (€60) which one Cellar Tracker reviewer summed as “odd-but-wow” – to Romanée-Conti 2019 Monopole (€29,000). Given we are in Tuscany, Il Palagio leans heavily into the Super Tuscans, with deep verticals of Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Masseto, Solaia, and Tignanello. The 2021 Sassicaia (€900), 2018 Ornellaia (€800), and 2020 Masseto (€2,700) sit alongside back vintages such as 1988 Sassicaia (€1,900) and a three-litre 2015 Masseto (€14,000). Brunello di Montalcino is another stronghold, with Biondi-Santi Riservas from 2016 (€1,300) and 2010 (€2,200), plus Poggio di Sotto and Salvioni. Further north, Barolo is equally well-stocked, featuring Giacomo Conterno, Roagna, Cappellano, and Giuseppe Mascarello. Highlights include 2019 Pira Vecchie Viti Barolo (€980) and 2015 Giacomo Conterno Arione (€650). Beyond Italy, Bordeaux’s presence is felt with Château Léoville Las Cases 1990 (€1,500), while Burgundy whites include Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet 2018 (€4,600) and Jean Chartron Bâtard-Montrachet 2022 (€1,650). For those veering off-piste, Jura is represented by Pierre Overnoy 2003 Vieux Savagnin Ouillé (€900). Meanwhile, at the property’s new sea-focused restaurant, Onde (“waves”), in the newly revealed Palazzo Del Nero, guests can try a selection of orange wines, including Paraschos Kai 2021 (€95), a structured Friulano, and pure-seeming whites such as Hofstatter Barthenau 2021 Pinot Bianco from Alto Adige (€100). There’s also unusually opulent rosé in the form of Gerard Bertrand’s Clos du Temple 2021 (€400). All best enjoyed alongside oysters, Tyrrhenian red tuna, and seared octopus. If there is a criticism, it is the absence of truly old vintages - the 1985 Biondi-Santi Tenuta Greppo Brunello di Montalcino (€1,200) being the cellar’s elder statesman. However, plans are afoot for a new showpiece facility.

Dishes

Fresh from sampling the clay-raised Gran Selezione from Fontodi at the city’s Chianti Classico Collection festival, Meccia opened with incisive, non-dosage Tarlant, setting the stage for an opening act built around February’s vegetable of the month - beetroot. It appeared first in an improbably crisp, whisper-thin disc, then in a sculptural procession atop marble plinths, an apparent nod to the quarries which built this city. The best interpretation? A beetroot-infused cannoli with a shell so fine it shattered like spun sugar. The most unusual? A quivering beetroot aspic, a curious positioning for an earthy vegetable, foreshadowing the evening’s more esoteric diversions. The amuse-bouche prolonged the beetroot theme, blending it into a silky cream with young kimchi - the latter’s fermented bite closing on an unexpected bitterness. Then came the bread course, a spectacle in itself: 40-inch-long grissini, one slick with olive oil and salt, the other, of course, beetroot-hued. Alongside naturally leavened bread made with Verna, an ancient Tuscan wheat with minimal gluten, the butters impressed – one perfumed with sage, another redolent of star anise, cloves, and cinnamon; only a purple beetroot butter was missing. Then, venison tartare – impeccable, but given an unexpected maritime lilt with the addition of seaweed, brightened by winter lemon, laced with Bourbon vanilla, and topped with dark chocolate flakes, curiously close in appearance to confectionery. A dish both provocative and perplexing. Meccia, resisting the temptation of red, attempted to bisect its contradictions with the 8% Fritz Haag Juffer 2022 Riesling Kabinett – though in the end, Tarlant’s blade proved sharper. When in doubt, apply Champagne. Smoked spaghetti alla chitarra followed, featuring double-marinated mullet flesh – evoking, and arguably exceeding, an opulent dose of bottarga. Fermented plums and amaranth rounded out its sharp-edged salinity, though our borrowed Stefano Ricci tie (from the neatly arranged stash in the frescoed hotel suite) began to feel like an increasingly poor decision. The dish, though pungent at first, grew friendlier with each forkful, aided by Meccia’s choice of Appius 2019 from Südtirol – a Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, and Pinot Bianco blend, all preserved lemon brightness and aristocratic oak, sailing through the mullet’s intensity like a grand Riva. For the shared main, Meccia poured a well-aired Super Tuscan, fitting for a restaurant in the grape’s homeland – the freshly released Tignanello 2021. This met whole pigeon, brined to perfection, carved tableside by Lavezzini. The stuffing – a luxurious amalgam of black bread, dates, and cured beef belly – transformed each bite into something rich, met by Tuscan red beans in an earthy counterpoint. Here, Lavezzini’s command of meat was evident. Pre-dessert swung back to beetroot - this time offset by lemongrass foam and berry sorbet with kvass, served slightly warm and, unexpectedly, most successful. Then, the finale, by pastry chef, Mariano Dileo, a crisp millefeuille of caramelised puff pastry layered with fennel and anise-scented coffee cream. Paired with Rossella Bencini Tesi’s 2014 Vin Santo, it was a perfect coda – all bitter-sweet, aromatic depth, and crumbling, burnished edges.

Last sip

Il Palagio operates with the assurance of a place which knows exactly what it is: a bastion of Florentine grandeur, wrapped in the soft glow of a world which has little interest in passing trends. But beneath the gilt and grace, the kitchen is quietly subverting expectations. This is Italian fine dining – measured, meticulous, but laced with a streak of irreverence. Familiar flavours are bent, stretched, and sometimes broken, only to be reassembled with precision. By the time the last shard of caramelised millefeuille dissolves and the Vin Santo makes its farewell, the outside world has shrunk, something to be dealt with later, after one more glass in this gastronomic daydream.

Best for

• Champagne and Tuscany
• Sumptuous, historic setting
• Abstract flavour combinations

Il Palagio at Four Seasons Firenze - Borgo Pinti, 99, 50121 Firenze, Italy; +39 055 262 6450; ilpalagioristorante.it