Eroica Riesling 2018
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#81 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2020
Eroica Riesling offers sweet lime and mandarin orange aromas with subtle mineral notes. The mouth-watering acidity is beautifully balanced by flavorful Washington Riesling fruit. To achieve the Eroica style, the winery strives for bright fruit with crisp acidity and enhanced minerality. A good match for Asian dishes, Indian curries, crab, and scallops.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas are vibrant, with notes of lime leaf, whole lime and wet slate. Medium-bodied, off-dry lime and white-peach flavors follow, with mouthwa- tering acidity upping the interest. Nestea Iced Tea notes linger on the finish. Pair it with shrimp ceviche with diced mango and lime juice. Editors' Choice.
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Wine Spectator
A lovely wine, appealingly off-dry and boldly expressive, with honeysuckle, peach, grapefruit and spice flavors that linger on the lush, crisp finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A collaboration between Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen, the 2018 Eroica Riesling displays a pale straw color and a classic Riesling nose with soft petrol aromas and hints of green apple skin, white peach and lime candy. Medium-bodied, the wine is lively on the palate with juicy, succulent acidity that makes me salivate, and it shows a kiss of sweetness to lift the expression, ending with a fresh, vibrant finish. Another success, this bottling stands as a testament that Washington State Riesling can be made well, even at the $20 mark.
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James Suckling
This shows flint and steel character with sliced green apples. Pear blossom, too. High toned. Full-bodied and very tangy, turning fruity and off-dry. Candied melon at the end.
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Launched in 1999, Eroica is a labor of love for two of the world's great Riesling producers. One from the Old World, Dr. Loosen estate of Germany, and the other from the New World, Chateau Ste. Michelle of Washington state. An intermingling of Old and New World philosophies and technique enables the crafting of an extraordinary Riesling from Washington state grapes. Named for Beethoven's Third Symphony, Eroica reflects not only its variety and site, but also its heritage: bold and forward from its Washington roots, elegant and refined from German inspiration.
The first five vintages of Eroica Riesling (1999-2003) were named to Wine Spectator's "Top 100" list.
"I have long believed that a Riesling revival would have to start with a prominent New World winery like Chateau Ste. Michelle."
- Ernst Loosen, Dr. Loosen estate
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.