Usual Dinner, Unusual Wine

Being lazy tonight and having ended up going out for lunch during the day, I ended up making the lunch I had brought to work, dinner. Spruced up a little. It was a very simple baked chicken Lean Cuisine. I plated it and drizzled a little balsamic vinegar over the chicken and added a side of cheesy broccoli, and went for the most unusual bottle of wine that I could think of in my cellar, to give dinner a special twist.

Wine: 2005 Airlie Winery Müller-Thurgau Estate
Meal: Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken with cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cheesy broccoli

Tasting notes on the wine:

Color: 5/5
Very pale yellow, almost clear. Perfect clarity, with just the slightest bit of a clear meniscus.

Nose: 12/15
Complex nose, combining elements of herbal greens and minerals, with a touch of floral. Very much like a Gewurtztraminer or a Riesling. The herbal component comes out in the form of fresh cut grass after a spring rain, and the mineral component reminds me of well water. Lavender is the chief floral scent.

Taste: 8/10
Tart and acidic on the attack, mellowing out to fresh, crisp, bright fruit on the mid-palate. There are tones of citrus and apple with a shock of pear. There's a little bit of a bite to it - not alcohol heat... I can't quite describe it, might just be the tartness causing me to pucker my cheeks a little. If summer had a taste, this would be it. The balance is really nice on this - even though this wine is semi-sweet with a residual sugar of 2%, there's enough acidity to round it out.

Finish: 7/10
A good finish on this one - the flavors linger for quite a while. There's a lot of granny smith apple, very prominent, with ginger ale. The feel is a little oily, but it's smooth and clean.

Aging: 3/5
From what I can find of the little there is out there about the Müller-Thurgau grape, it's not meant to age much. I think no one has given this grape a chance to. Clearly it's still holding up strong 4 years after the vintage, and I don't sense any deterioration going on. Perhaps this is a white that requires a little time in the bottle to fully develop into what this wine has obviously become, and I think it will continue to age for at least a few more years. Not too shabby for what seems to be the "reject" grape of Germany.

Overall: 4/5
I had no idea what to expect going into this wine, and I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed by it. It came from a bin end, let's-get-rid-of-it sale, and it was a grape I'd never heard of before so I thought to give it a shot. I'm really glad I did. I don't generally go for sweet wines, so it's really nice that the acidity of this balances out the sweetness and makes it just enjoyable. It's well crafted, and a good solid effort. With only 10% ABV, it's pretty easy to sit and sip on this one. If you're into Rieslings, you'll probably really like this one. Go find it and try it out!

Total: 89pts

This is somewhat of an elegant offering - pair this with elegant meals. The mashed potatoes and cornbread stuffing were a little heavy with it, but the chicken tenderloins and broccoli were perfect. This would go really well with seafood as well, and salads with a light dressing on it. This would also make a lovely brunch wine, seated outside with the sun shining, a light breeze blowing, good friends and fabulous brunch food!

Enjoy!