Champagne Esterlin Cleo Blanc de Blancs 2012

Drink it now or cellar for up to 20 years. No need to decant. Maison Esterlin is a cooperative winery in the Champagne wine region of France. Founded in 1948 by three families from Mancy, it now boasts approximately 400 members and over 210 hectares of vineyards. Its headquarters are located in Epernay, in an elegant Palladian-style villa. The vineyards extend from the Epernay area to the Côteaux du Sézannais and the Marne Valley, in the Côte des Blancs. Cléo Blanc de Blancs is an elegant Champagne produced exclusively with Chardonnay grapes from vineyards located in the Côteaux Sud d‘Epernay, in the Mancy Valley. After harvest, the wine is fermented in used barrels, half in 228-liter Burgundy barrels and the other half in 350-liter oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation is avoided to ensure the full expression of its aromatic character and preserve its freshness. The resulting wine has a crystalline appearance, a limpid, intense straw-yellow color with silvery highlights. Its aromatic profile is rich, fresh, and broad, with notes of yellow apple, pear, candied peel, honey melon, white peach, and acacia blossom, followed by hints of brioche and dried apricot. On the palate, it is soft and generous with a creamy, velvety effervescence. It‘s lively, ripe, and balanced with crisp acidity and a long finish reminiscent of chalky minerality. It‘s perfect with seafood, roasted turbot, and scallop risotto.