October may have arrived here in the Dolomites, but the temps are still soaring abnormally in the 70's though dipping to the low 50's at night making for a superb dining setting indoors overlooking the mountains. We arrived at Castel Fragsberg which is a gorgeous Relais et Chateaux historic castle way up high overlooking the valley at Merano in the north of Italy. The service here is excellent and the dining room is surrounded by glass overlooking the valley. Part of the dining room is reserved for the exclusive Michelin-starred tasting menu at "Prezioso" and our group of 13 occupied the whole place that night and boy was it a 4 hour long dining party.
Sparkling was first in the form of von Bravenbach "methode Champenoise" from just below us in Terlano in the Adige Valley. It was a tad too gaseous pour moi, but paired very well with the amazing assortment of amuses that seemed to have no end:
1)Buckwheat crepe with egg cream, sturgeon caviar and sour cream
2)Goat cheese covered in charcoal
check these all out on FB!!!
3)Jerusalem artichokes and chips with artichoke cream
4)Wild Mushroom, summer truffle and sour cream tartelette
5a)Vinschgerle--brown bread soup with speck
5b)Vinschgerle-farmer's bacon & onion in a taco with horseradish
Whipped yoghurt butter & coal cooked bread
By now I had ordered the first white which was another new grape to us from the region, Kerner 2022 from Haidenhof right across the valley. We loved this so much we searched all over town and everywhere to buy it as we could not make it to the winery due to so many group events!! The nose was like a fruit salad, but the wine was creamy and dry. It seems that Kerner is an obscure hybrid of Riesling & Vernatsch! This was ideal with the "first" course of Alpine Char served almost raw or barely seared and slightly poached apparently with Dolomite Mountain salt for 4-5 mins! Beetroot and Sour Cream were the simple and so awesome ingredients making this dish a star. On the side was Beetroot sorbet with horseradish.
The next course was Tortelli which were filled with Parmesan cream and local mountain artichokes were in the broth as well as fried chips. Think Torellini in Brodo from Emilia-Romagna but with that Tyrolian mountain twist! On the side were Potato croquettes with parmesan and artichoke as well. Someone in the kitchen sure likes to have FUN with food.
We moved on to a Piwi grape called Sisyphos reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc called "Solaris" from Kellerhof that was simply perfection with the Pike-Perch again with Jerusalem artichoke cream and chips with herbs and Scorzone truffle all in a pike-perch sauce. The fish was delicate and flaky and not fishy in the least; a real local delicacy.
Red wine from this region is often overlooked--DON'T! "Mazon" Riserva 2020 from Hofstatter is a Pinot Noir that has huge heft, think Siduri from Sonoma and was a perfect pairing with the rare sadlle of Venison roasted to perfection with Carob flour, celery in textures & puree, black current and then a venison shoulder as goulash with Parsley Polenta and speck!! OMG....each course was like have three different courses.
We needed more red so a Filari di Mazon 2020 Pinot Noir followed from Carlotto.
A magnificent ICED CAPPUCINO palate cleanser came in the form of espresso sorbet, biscuit, mascarpone and cacao. We were in heaven, but needless to say there was more. The next dessert was a PLUM Panna Cotta with Buckwheat Ice Cream and Apple!
The dessert wine arrived and was a Merlino (literally "unicorn") from Pojer & Sandri an intense cherry-like wine made from Lagrein grape in the form of a port with a 2007 brandy added. It was way lighter than port, but fun for a difference.
Oh, there were three more desserts to finish: Blackberry Donut with Cinnamon, Hazelnut Waffle with Pear Chutney and a simple Salted Caramel Macaron. We took a walk through the gardens, pool area and overlooked the twinkling lights of the valley below before easily drifting off and saying, there is no way we can eat breakfast.
