Enoteca Leoli is our destination Italian eatery set within the recently renovated Borgo di Colleoli. It’s set in rolling Tuscan countryside amid olive groves, farms and vineyards – a landscape that has made Tuscany a mecca for the vaunted Mediterranean diet and lifestyle.
Chef Maurizio leans into this with his latest seasonal menu, which runs to six courses in true Italian style: artichoke served plain and perfect, handmade pici with guanciale and pecorino, ravioli stuffed with Maremma ragù, and filetto alla Rossini loaded with foie gras, truffle and porcini. The wine list pulls from small Italian producers—volcanic whites from Sicily, structured Timorasso from Piedmont, among many others.
There’s pizza too, of course, with toppings like Sausage and Friarielli – best paired with a saline snap of Piedinudi rose. Then to zuccotto di ricotta for dessert with a 2007 Nicchiaia that’s aged into something truly complex and indulgent.
The Indian menu runs parallel: lal maas with Ligurian red, butter chicken with Piedmontese white, palak paneer paired with a saline Mediterranean blend that somehow makes perfect sense with spinach. Dal makhani gets an alpine white from Valle d’Aosta that cuts through the cream perfectly.
In late July, Enoteca Leoli hosts The Waiting Table—a six-course supper inspired by Waiting for Godot, followed by a private performance of Beckett’s play before it premieres at Volterra’s festival. Theatre, wine, absurdist drama and Tuscan cooking in one evening.
Most nights, though, it’s just dinner. Proper ingredients, wines someone actually thought about, no speeches. The sort of meal that reminds you why people keep coming back to this part of Italy.
