Following on the heels of my introduction to ice wine, courtesy of Kitchen Chick's excellent November theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday #28 (you can read the round-up and tasting notes here), I saw the 2004 Rudolf Muller Riesling Eiswein ($18.99/375 ml) in the supermarket up here on the coast and we decided to give it a try.
This was a pleasant riesling eiswein. Made from grapes grown in the Pfalz region, it is golden in color, with an initial whiff of petroleum on first opening. This is characteristic of many German rieslings and does not indicate there is something wrong, but it may be off-putting to some. It was not as aromatic as it was flavorful, with apple, honey, white nectarine, and a touch of coconut flavors.
I think that this wine would be better with food, especially a blue cheese, or a huntsman cheese and crackers. The manufacturer also suggested the wine would go well with fruit tarts. As always, you'd want to be sure that ice wine was slightly sweeter than the fruit tart since the acid in the wine will make it seem crisper and less sweet once it's next to a sugary dessert.
Now that I've had two ice wines, I must say I preferred the vidal-based icewine I had earlier this month. I felt this wine, while pleasant and good QPR, tasted much like a sweet, syrupy riesling. The vidal ice wine, on the other hand, tasted like nothing else I've ever had before, and had great complexity. If you love rieslings, though, you may prefer this wine, with its familiar flavor palate. And this 2004 Rudolf Muller Riesling Eiswein would definitely be much easier to pair with food.
My ice wine knowledge is still a work in progress, and I will be continuing to seek out and explore these luscious dessert wines. There are definitely other riesling ice wines out there, and I look forward to tasting them in the upcoming months.
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