2005 Esser Vineyards Chardonnay California. One of the joys of travel is finding new experiences; on board a luxury cruise like this one, exploring new wines was a great part of the joy. This Chardonnay was on offer at one of the several bars on board, and I was surprised by how good the wine was -- even though it's a style I don't care for generally -- and how well it went with some elegant cucumber sandwiches made with crustless white bread, light cream cheese with chives and very thin cucumber slices. The sweetness and oakiness of the wine made a brilliant contrast with the cucumber and the cream cheese -- a great sandwich made even better.
Bright yellow color, clear hue, bright pineapple and citrus aroma and taste, baked apple, flowers, pears, crème brulee, and of course some obvious oaky notes. But the entire package was quite pleasant, and I noticed that many of the guests liked the wine a great deal. I won't seek it out, but if the style appealed to me, this would be a definite QPR at $8 or so. Good EGA, a bit less than the aroma of the wine. 2*
Winery: http://www.esservineyards.com/ I really enjoyed reading this website; the people are interesting and they peddle their wine with great verve. Ludwig von Esser is a particularly brilliant star of the site.
K&L: Esser Chardonnay is a single lot from Clarksburg. At 45% of the blend, its pineappley, ripe citrus character is dominant in the blend; along with the sweet vanilla barrel character from its fermentation, its aromas and flavors are impressive. The other lots added baked apple fruit and lots of creamy texture along with bright crisp apple fruit along with floral character. The final blend offers soft inviting aromas of sweet citrus, tropical fruit, and crème brulee oak. The palate is round and accessible, with apple and pear notes.
