Washington Riesling Showdown

The aftermath of another normal Monday. 10 wines tasted, 7 of which are dessert wines. The weaknesses in my wine drinking abilities are certainly California and dessert wines. Luckily after class I hosted a halibut dinner with a couple brown-bagged Rieslings - the super duo of Washington State.

There were 5 tasters in all, (myself included) 4 of which are wine students. The battle involved my contribution - the 2007 Chateau Ste Michelle Eroica Riesling (A collaboration with German Dr. Loosen which is arguably Washington's most highly regarded Riesling), and it's competition was no less stellar - the 2008 Long Shadows Poet's Leap Riesling (designed by German winemaker Armin Diel), graciously provided by a fellow student.

For dinner I cooked up some halibut with a black bean salsa, based off of this recipe. The consensus between the wines was pretty clear, and the Poet's Leap took home the gold.

The Eroica is a very good Riesling, and in fact both of these wines are excellent and with reasonable prices in the low $20's range. (maybe that's pricey for US Riesling) The problem with the Eroica that I had is its 2.15% residual sugar, which is just a tad too high. The acid just doesn't balance it out perfectly like the Poet's Leap.

The pH of the Eroica is actually lower, at 3.00 vs 3.08, but the RS on the Poet's Leap is 1.43%, a much happier level in my opinion. Besides the acid and sugar balance, the Poet's Leap has a more interesting nose filled with the common floral scent found in Riesling, along with a hint of a salt lick covered with fresh herbs. The finish is almost like biting into a clove. The Eroica actually smells dryer, but smells can be deceiving. The Eroica also has a minerally nose, but this one leaning towards a macaroni and cheese dish without much else going on besides a whiff of goat petting zoo food. Overall the Poet's Leap is simply the more interesting, complex, and balanced wine. It's great with halibut as well.

In my revitalization of this blog I've decided to invent my own scoring system. The rating will be quantitative but the scale is infinitely large. In general I'll stick roughly to the 100 point system used by the likes of the evil empire, but some wines will score below 0 and others above 100. The price will factor in. My inaugural ratings are below.

2007 Chateau Ste Michelle and Dr Loosen Eroica Riesling ~$19 - 88 points - good wine but overpriced, there are likely $12 Rieslings which can compete equally, especially in Washington (which produces the country's best Rieslings, although New York is close).

2008 Long Shadows Poet's Leap Riesling ~$20 - 94 points - excellent Riesling, great balance and great with lightly spicey foods or fish. $20 seems to be the going rate and it's well worth the Jackson.