Having earned a Michelin star in Switzerland, chef Anatoly Komm returned to his native Russia to open Varvary at Moscow’s Barivkha Spa & Hotel, where he applies a decidedly modern touch to traditional Russian food.
For dishes such as gently cooked ice fish with fresh cucumber and clam sauce with flying fish roe, and Port wine-glazed veal cheek with buckwheat and “porcelain potatoes” his team has constructed a wine list that is short, sharp, but full of classic European producers.
A collection of mature Bordeaux that includes 1945 Château Palmer and 1961 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is perhaps the highlight, but the list is strong, too, in Burgundy and the Rhône, with producers such as Grivot, Gros, and Rousseau, and Chapoutier, Chave, and Guigal. Italy and Spain are also well represented with choices from across both countries including Casa Basse Soldera Riserva Brunello di Montalcino 2001 and a range of 2001 Mencía from Descendientes de J Palacios in Spain’s Bierzo.