2005 Esser Pinot Noir - $14.00

June 8, 2006

Background: Esser Vineyards is located in American Canyon, CA. From my research, I get the sense that Esser is a virtual vineyard, they don't actually grow the grapes, but they make the wine from outsourced grapes. The bottle even says "Cellared and Bottled by Esser Vineyards". Upon further research, I discovered that this wine is 100% pinot noir sourced from Central Valley, Central Coast, and Napa Valley. The wine is aged for 5 months in a combination of 25% French and 75% American Oak barrels. Some people may have a problem with vintners that don't actually grow grapes, but I think it's a pretty neat concept that keeps the price of the wine low. From my experience, this phenomenon is more prevalent with pinot noir than any other wine.

My Tasting Notes: Wonderful sweet smelling nose with floral notes. Very light rusty color and almost no legs. Light flavor of strawberries and on the sweeter side for pinots. Very low tannins make this wine a pucker free experience. Overall, the nose is by far the best part of this wine. This is a good pinot noir to have on hand for guests that normally don't drink wine. They'll be "wowed" by the nose and appreciate how easy this wine is to drink. 

The Meal: I drank this wine over two days with two different meals. The first meal consisted of sopressata salami, gouda cheese, and some flat bread. This wine was too soft for the hearty salami, but it wasn't a bad combination. The second meal consisted of grilled pork chops, rice pilaf, and asparagus. I know, most people wouldn't pair a red wine with pork, but I thought this was a good combination. The light bodied pinot matched well with the pork and the sweetness of the wine worked well with the paprika on the pork and the asparagus. 

My Score: 83

Home Page