Lyle Wine Wednesday: A Brilliant White Wine from Enderle and Moll from an Unusual Grape

So you may have noticed that we have been sending some e-mails out on Wednesdays. We have a

pretty solid 3 email a week thing going with two mid end and one high end wine on Friday but we have been sneaking in a new offer, what we call internally "Lyle Wine Wednesday." These are wines that I passionately am behind and love very much but, because they are less well known, they don't sell enough to get a spot on Tuesday or Thursday. They are unusual wines by definition. Maligned varietals, odd places, grapes grown in odd places, strange processes, and/or any combination of these factors make up a Lyle Wine. Oh, also great acidity. I love wines with good acidity as they keep the wines fresh tasting for years.  So look out for Lyle Wine Wednesday.

Back to today's wine, which is an incredible entry into the very small German Muller Thurgau sweepstakes. The best, for me, has always been the brilliant Muller-Thurgau "pur mineral" from Sebastien Fuerst. And in the crisp, high acid, elegant style it is still the one to beat. But the 2013 Enderle & Moll Muller Thurgau "Muschelkalk" (as little as $21.99 on the 3-pack) is in the "crazy, how is this happening, what a freaking awesome wine I've never had anything like this pour me some more " style. This wine is a true freak show.  This is a brilliant white wine that transcends what Muller-Thurgau can be. It is rich, complex, creamy and very finesse driven with real depth and a great finish. As Sven told me in an e-mail "It is very untypical for a Muller as it is mineral and complex." This is white wine made with all the precision and delicacy of a top white burgundy or Grauburgunder or Weissburgunder GG's. A regal wine yet refreshing and light but also has that extra dimension that making drinking any and every Enderle & Moll wine can be. It is only a few meters from where the great Pinot Noir "Muschelkalk" is grown and the family resemblance is eerie. Terroir, what?

Enderle and Moll make the immensely popular Pinot Noirs, the Cuvee Ozzie (formerly Liason) as well as two premium wines, Bundsandstein and Muschelkalk, and given their broad appeal, are rapidly becoming the face of our German Red wine portfolio.  No less than Jancis Robinson is a fan and they are helping convince the world that Germany can make world class Pinot Noir.

Muller-Thurgau is a much maligned grape - most of it is pretty lousy, to be honest.  It is used to plant any vineyard that is not Dornfelder (another grape that is usually poorly made) in most of Germany. But that doesn't mean that it has to be awful; just that it is very popular among awful producers. This is the Muller-Thurgau to beat in Germany, and maybe the world. Enjoy.

2013 Enderle and Moll Muller Thurgau "Muschelkalk" - $23.99 

($65.97 3-pack)