A dinner with Marjan Simcic at Tinello, by Claire Scott-Gall

Marjan Simcic has a great personality and we at Bancroft are very fond of him. When he agreed to come over to the UK to spend some time with our clients, we were thrilled We held a private dinner this week at Tinello restaurant in Pimlico. Guests included a mix of private clients and trade and we were also joined by the Slovenian Ambassador, Iztok Jarc, and his wife Helena.

The beautiful private room at Tinello

Marjan as ever was extremely passionate about his wines and lead the guests through his unique range of wines, with the help of our director Neb, who incidentally is also Slavic.

The meal started with a delicious salad of Green beans, roast red onion, sun dried tomato and parmesan, paired with the Pinot Grigio 2010 and the Sauvignon Reserve 2008. With the Opoka Chardonnay 2009, we enjoyed Borrage and pecorino cheese risotto. For me, this was an unbelievably good food match- the pecorino cheese seemed to bring out even more of the creamy oak and honeyed notes from the Chardonnay and the borrage matched perfectly with the saltiness running through the wine.

For the main course, roast breast of duck, broad beans, pancetta and orange sauce. This was classically matched with the Pinot Noir 2009 - bright cherry notes and a touch of orange peel. We also had a glass each of the Opoka Merlot 2006 which, although young, is brimming with dark fruits and plums.

Finally the piece de la resistance....the Leonardo 2005, a wonderful, syrupy sweet wine from 100% Ribolla grapes, named after Marjan's son. This is a true "remember where you drank it" wine with its searing acidity balancing out the richness and sweetness of the fruit. A truly memorable wine that went perfectly with the almond tart with yoghurt ice cream.

A magical meal from chefs Max and Federico Sali and amazing wines from the best Slovenian producer in the Goriska Brda region, Marjan Simcic.


 Written by Claire Scott-Gall