It hot again in Northern California. Isn’t it fall by now? One of the only reasons not to be irritated by the heat is that it's great weather for a nice cold glass of riesling. Since I love riesling oh-so-very much and this has to be one of the most written about rieslings (at least in what I read!), I was really looking forward to it. I mean, the wine even has its own website. And lucky me, I was tasting the 10th vintage.

According to Eroica’s website, Chateau Ste. Michelle produces more riesling than any other American region, making seven different kinds. Among them, their “standard” riesling that I used to drink practically by the case in my early 20’s. The Dr. Loosen side of things comes from Ernst Loosen, part of a winemaking family that has been making riesling in Germany’s Mosel region for more than two centuries. Together they produce three different Eroica rieslings grown in Washington’s Columbia Valley.

They have twice produced an ice wine, when the conditions were just right in their Horse Heaven vineyard, in 2006 and 2008. They also produce a single berry version, in the Trockenbeerenauslese style. A word that I simply cannot pronounce, probably even if I did have a reference for the proper pronunciation, that translates to selection of individual grapes left on the vine until nearly dry or trocken (i.e. raisened). They also allow botrytis to settle in. This produces a wine not that unlike Sauternes, I would imagine.

I tasted their off-dry version, the Eroica “widely” available. It was very pale yellow in the glass. While I likely served myself wine that was a bit too cold, I went ahead with my tasting. The nose was light (but was certainly affected by the cold temperature) and had a slight tropical scent, like pineapple. Being riesling, it was citrusy-- like white grapefruit.

I thought it was fairly light for an off-dry wine. I always expect something fuller, but this was still light and refreshing. Must mean it's properly balanced. It was very citrusy, again with white grapefruit as well as lime. The acidity was nice and there was a hint of minerals. I especially enjoyed the super long finish. Yum!


The Score: ★ ★ ★½