Patrizi Gavi di Gavi

Piedmonte, Cortese grape
[£21, Chapter II restaurant; £7.36, Rodney Fletcher = £13.64 increment plus 12.5p/c service tax = £15.35 mark-up]

A MINERALLY wine with a dab of sweetness, to me like Chablis, but less anorexic. It worked well with a very small Poached Torbay Sole dished-up at Chapter Two, Blackheath, a restaurant specialising in conceited ultra nouvelle cuisine. To the uninitiated, out goes the adage "don't spoil your dinner" because you will need to eat before going, the portions being albeit attractively formed aesthetically and good on the taste buds, but child-size for adult money... Beggars belief. No restaurant should have you thinking about dinner after the cutlery hits the plate. A theory I wouldn't want to pay to try out - I bet you could fit the whole of each course on the spade of a fork. Or maybe they should try the 'show house' approach? i.e. furnish diners with extra small cutlery to fool them into thinking there's actually more there.

A restaurant for affluent dieters.

More complex Gavi di Gavi's include 'Villa Sparina' [£13, Every Wine] and the beautifully packaged elegant tasting 'Raccolto Tardivo' from Villa Lanata [£7.99, Majestic]. When spent, the long-necked bottle makes a great olive oil recepticle.