#267 - Greek Chicken Thighs, Skordalia & Spicy Carrot Purée With '10 Sigalas Asirtiko-Athiri

Shorter post today, mainly because this pairing didn't get out of the gate in any happy sense.

Greek chicken dinner.  Eat Greek.  It's what's Good.

But the wine could have been cheap, low acid, throwaway Savennières if given blind.  Interesting expression, just not something that kept our interest in the least.

Food:  Greek chicken thighs over skordaliá and spicy carrot purée with pita for dipping

Chicken thighs marinated in lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, dry white wine, garlic, onion and black pepper, then grilled.  Served over skordaliá made with skin-on potatoes, almonds, breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.  More rustic and simply outstanding stuff with the chicken juice bleeding all over it.

Moroccan-spiced carrot purée.  Caraway, ginger, roasted garlic, and harissa blended into puréed carrots.  It's a favorite always and forever.  Pita for dipping.

Great meal.  Too bad the wine couldn't keep up.


Wine:  2010 Sigalas Asirtiko-Athiri Santorini ($16 - Binny's)

Alternate Assyrtiko spelling in the name, 75% in bottle.  The other 25% is Athiri, the Greek grape used to make Retsina.

Dry.  Medium, trending towards light-bodied. Lemon-soaked cotton balls on the nose.  A fine mineral-seashell swirl on the palate mixing with citrus, a touch of beeswax and a bit of smoked oranges that have been sitting in a compost pile.  Had a Chenin Blanc-Savennières personality but not the evocative-expansive kind.  More flat with an acid not doing its due diligence to perk up and deepen things.  We missed the 100% Assyrtiko or Moschofilero with all their lift and seawater-mineral complexity that demands food, and when it hits, it's just the best, Jerry!  The best!  

Some reviews have said it's not ready to go.  We're not compelled to find out.

Greek white miss.  Rare thing in our world.

Pairing:  78  Wanted to like it but forgot about the wine for much of the meal

Just kinda sat there, limp, offering little.  Valiant efforts were made by the wine with a bite of chicken and skordaliá, becoming almost intriguing with a nice mineral play but the lack of acid undermined the pairing here.

We tried a cheap Chateau Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc from the fridge to see if the lack of acid was the culprit in the pairing fail and ding!  Yep.

Spend the extra $5 and get the 100% Sigalas Assyrtiko.  And drink it with Mantuano ouzo-flamed shrimp.  You'll thank me.