TN: Friday dinner with "tandoori" (almost) chicken

Jun 01, 2004 2 Replies

A good friend (and good cook) invited us over for dinner Friday night. It was just warm enough to eat outside, and we feasted on tandoori-style chicken, veggies,raita, rice, and a variety of chutneys and relishes. Very nice night with Betsy, 3 old friends, and a new friend. Plus 2 adorable dogs (a Portugese Water Dog and a Shih-Tzu). Our hostess had said that she was making Indian food (but didn't know what) , and knew her preferences are for Sancerre/Quincy/ Pouilly-Fume. So carried a Sancerre for before dinner and a food-friendly Riesling for dinner.


2002 Thomas-Labaille "Les Monts Damnés" Sancerre Chavignol Mineral nose, lots of citrus fruit with a light hint of gooseberry, plenty of zippy acidity, long chalky finish. Very good wine. A-


2002 Selbach-Oster Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett Not as much acid as the 2001 Selbach-Oster kabs, a fairly sweet kab with a nice touch of minerality. But the finish is a little clipped, and the sweetness is a tad much for the moderate acidity. Maybe it was too warm from sitting on table? I have one more, will put away, but not looking for more. B



Our hostess had the 2002 Quinta da Romeira (Bucelas, Portugal) - somewhat crisp, meyer lemon fruit with a short but clean finish. Think run-of-the-mill Muscadet. Might have shown better with a simpler seafood dish. B/B-



Another good evening with good friends.



Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. Dale



Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply


Greetings Dale;

Yummy on the Tandoori chicken.... one of my standard favourites for summer time al fresco dining! Mine is usually accompanied by a Daniel Lenko Estates Rose and this year by his 2003 Reserve Riesling... lots of citric fruit with a well balanced but somewhat edgy finish....

A good rosé would have probably went well. I find tandoori chicken (well, this was actually done on a grill) is pretty versatile. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

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