Esser Cellars Chardonnay
Esser Cellar Chardonnay
Vintage: 2002
Region: California (USA)
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $12.19
From time to time, I visit a store and do some sampling of the clearance bin wines looking for diamonds in the rough, and the above selection was 25% off at my local Liquor Depot. Coming out of the bottle, it exhibited a pale honey straw-ish color and the nose is delivered a bit of baked apple and honey along with some toasted oak, which almost makes it seem like apple pie. Tasting this, I am not excited and if I had paid the full price of 16+ dollars, I would be disappointed due it being rather one dimensional on the palate (toasted apple) and the heat and sugar it gives off provide a lingering bitter aftertaste. It reminds me of a cheap, flat sparkling wine that has been sitting out a couple of days. (don’t ask me how I know what this tastes like) It is passed its prime and unfortunately, time was not kind to it. I would highly recommend giving this wine away if it is in your cellar, or if you make the mistake of buying it like I did. I paired it with some Shrimp Fettucini Alfredo which was its only saving grace, as the fat in the sauce toned down the burning alcohol aftertaste. Kindly thank the person who gives this to you, and re-gift it yourself.
65 points
- Esser Cellars Chardonnay
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on August 27th, 2008
- Rating:
- 65 Points
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
Rhone Gang Hold Up #6
The appeal for this wine is going to be for consumers looking for flexibility and finesse in a red.
-
The Little Penguin Merlot
I find myself picking up bottles, reading the labels and examining the packaging and wondering what makes the average consumer choose it over the countless others in the sea of similarly priced products.
-
FAT Wreck Chords tour featuring NOFX
Easily the highlight of the set was the tour de force rendition of "The Decline", which is one of the best punk songs ever recorded in this writers opinion. The rest of the set was sonically outstanding, until one jackass from the crowd fired a full water bottle at the lead singer..
-
Corte Giara Ripasso Valpolicella Superiore
It is also the reason that Ripasso wines are often referred to as ‘Baby Amarone’ since that secondary fermentation takes place on the same lees used to make Amarone.
-
Nugan Estate Manuka Grove Vineyard Durif
I remember the day I first tried this wine and it was all I talked about with all my oenophile friends. I rushed out and bought as much as I could and stockpiled it in my cellar. Since then, many Merlots, Shirazes and Chardonnays have become between us.
-
Black Cloud Altostratus
The situation was like a ‘Black Cloud’ hanging over their heads. Sensing an opportunity, the duo decided to buy back the remaining inventory and brand it themselves. With that, Black Cloud was born.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.