The Evening We Dined Like Tuscan Nobility
Under Leonardo Bellaccini’s guidance, San Felice has perfected the balance between innovation and tradition. Their experimental vineyard, housing over 270 ancient grape varieties, serves as a living laboratory for the future of Tuscan wine.
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On a balmy Monday evening in November, as the city’s lights began their nightly shimmer, a select group gathered at Luce Osteria Contemporanea in Kuala Lumpur for what would prove to be more than just another wine dinner.
The restaurant, known for its authentic Italian cuisine, which includes wood-fired pizzas and traditional regional specialities, transformed its intimate space into a showcase of Tuscan wine culture.
San Felice’s Chief Wine Maker, Leonardo Bellaccini, making his maiden visit to Malaysia, had flown in with bottles that told stories of sun-drenched Tuscan hillsides.
At the same time, Executive Chef Paolo Cola orchestrated a five-act culinary opera that paid homage to Italy’s rich gastronomic heritage.
The evening opened with a zucchini flan that defied its humble vegetable origins.
Nestled in a pool of pecorino fondue and crowned with crispy bacon, it performed an elegant dance with the 2021 Rosso di Montalcino Campogiovanni, whose youthful vigour cut through the dish’s creamy decadence with the precision of a surgeon’s blade.
When Pork Meets Aristocracy
As conversations warmed, the porchetta tonnata arrived – a dish that could have been conceived in a fever dream of an Italian nonna.
The roasted porchetta, wearing its tuna-mayonnaise sauce like a silk scarf, found its soulmate in the 2019 Chianti Classico Riserva IL Grigio.
The wine’s aristocratic bearing – all leather and dark cherries – elevated the humble pork to nobility.
Priests, Ducks, and Sunday Secrets
The pasta course, however, was where the eyes truly lit up.
The strozzapreti came enrobed in a Venetian duck ragù that spoke of long Sunday afternoons and family secrets.
The San Felice Bell’Aja Bolgheri 2020 accompanied it like a wise old uncle, telling tales of coastal Tuscany through notes of Mediterranean herbs and maritime minerals.
When the Wild Surrenders
But the cinghiale in salmi – wild boar braised in red wine until it surrendered entirely to its fate – brought the room to a reverent hush.
Two vintages of San Felice’s Vigorello Toscana—the 2018 50th Anniversary edition and its 2019 successor—were served alongside.
Like fraternal twins, the wines showed how the same story could be told subtly differently, complementing the wild boar’s gamey intensity with their complex narratives.
Mother’s Tiramisu and Lasting Moments
Dessert, a tiramisu that Chef Cola insisted was “just like my mother’s,” arrived as if to remind us that sometimes the greatest luxury is simplicity perfectly executed.
The amaretto’s gentle bite provided a fitting punctuation to an evening that felt less like a wine dinner and more like a journey through time and terroir.
As the last guests lingered over their glasses, Leonardo shared a final thought that seemed to capture the essence of the evening: “In Tuscany,” he said, “we don’t pair wine with food – we pair it with moments.”
Those moments were nothing short of extraordinary on this particular Monday in November.
A Legacy of Excellence
San Felice’s story is inextricably woven into the fabric of Tuscan winemaking.
Since 1968, the estate has begun its modern chapter.
It has been at the forefront of innovation while maintaining a deep respect for tradition.
Bellaccini said the winery’s commitment to Indigenous grape varieties, particularly its work in preserving and studying ancient Tuscan varietals, has earned it recognition as custodian of Tuscany’s viticultural heritage.
What sets San Felice apart is their masterful interpretation of terroir. Each vineyard imparts its distinct character to the wines, from the iron-rich soils of Castelnuovo Berardenga to the galestro-laden slopes of Montalcino.
The winery’s holdings across multiple prestigious appellations—Chianti Classico, Montalcino, and Bolgheri—allow it to craft wines that speak eloquently of their origins.
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