This weekend I saw a 2012 Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica at the store and figured I’d try it blind along side the 2010 and 2011 bottles I have lying down in the cellar. Initial impressions were that the 2012 was easy to peg as the '12, but the 2010 and 2011 were quite similar. The 2012 was riper and showed some peach and melon notes in addition to the core of pear/apple, while the 2010 and 2011 were primarily pear/apple with some very slight mineral notes in the background. The '11 was slightly sweeter than the '10, which was the lightest and least forward of the 3. Even though the '12 came off as riper it wasn’t terribly sweet and had a pretty good acidic zip to it. Knowing that '12 was considerably warmer than '11 and '10 I wonder if they did some acid adjustments to the '12. In any case, it didn’t tasty spoofed but was a bit of a head scratcher. None of the wines were very complex or noteworthy, but solid values at the $14.99 price point. No real flaws to speak of in any wines, but certainly not very Germanic.
On day two the wines got more interesting, which is a good thing. In particular, the '10 started showing some nice minerality and was the best of the 3. The '11 still came off as a tad sweeter and not quite as complex as the '10 and the '12 was in very much the same place as the day prior, albeit with the volume turned down a bit.
All in all, this was a so-so tasting but I am looking forward to watching the wines evolve. I swear 5-10 years ago I used to pick up more minerality in the wines than today. Perhaps production has gone up or something. It doesn’t really taste like Loosen is having much of an influence on these wines these days. But for $15, I’ll keep buying when I need a consistent inexpensive riesling.
I haven’t had this for years, but I was at a Ralph’s supermarket a month ago and they had it marked down heavily (from the normally overpriced regular price there, maybe low to mid $20s), then you could layer on the 30% off if you buy 6 deal they always offer, so I ended up getting six for about $9 each. I’m hosting a fundraiser dinner on Saturday which involves food from a taco cart, so I figured it was a reasonable match as one of our two whites.
I think mine are the 2011. I never thought I’d see any discussion of Eroica on this board, so thanks for sharing your impressions.
P.S. There is an ocean of good quality German Kabinett and estate riesling out there for $15 and less; do you prefer Eroica over those, or is it just easier to get your hands on?
Chris,
I don’t really have a good local source for the good, inexpensive riesling in Seattle. Margins up here are very high in out retail stores and buying cheap wines blind online seems like it could be pretty hit and miss. So no, it’s not that I prefer Eroica at that price, it’s just easy and safe.
I think the main difference between even the earliest Eroica wines and German/Loosen WAS always less minerality. They have the acid, sweetness, and furit flavor profile to match, but there’s just a tad more fruitiness, a tad less stone, and little more weight on the palate.
I have it relatively frequently and haven’t noticed a dramatic change, but have never done any sort of vertical. I will say that Erik Olsen the head winemaker at CSM, who made the earliest versions, left there for the Clos Du Bois group around 8-9 years ago.
As an aside I had a bottle of the 2000 Eroica Single Berry Select a few weeks back. It was a tad on the overly sweet side, but was one of the most flavor-packed wines I’ve ever had.
Ron,
Shoot me a note when you’re in Seattle and I’ll give you a 2007 Eroica to take for a spin.