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LIOCO is our namesake label. These offerings, driven by the availability of superlative fruit, may change year to year. The philosophy will not. While our favorite wines from Burgundy and southern France will serve as a guide, LIOCO will reflect as clearly as possible its native Californian roots. The focus is on vineyard-designate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as an old-vine blend of “under-dog” California varietals (including Carignan and Petite Sirah).
Chardonnay is a site-transparent grape and very revealing of the particularities of where it is grown. We will bottle several single-vineyard Chardonnays and vinify them in inert, stainless-steel tanks. No oak. We pick these wines earlier to maintain natural acidity (and lower potential alcohol), employ wild yeasts, and bottle without fining or filtration. This is “natural winemaking” and the resulting wines are crystalline, alive, and pure.
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Chardonnay “Sonoma County” 06
This wine, like all of the LIOCO vineyard designate wines, was grown from the ground up. No bulk wine/juice was used. It was hand picked and sorted, and naturally fermented in 100% stainless steel using a wild yeast. It underwent a natural malolactic fermentation, and was bottled without fining or filtration. This wine showcases the hallmark traits of Sonoma County Chardonnay with lemon blossom, chamomile, and chalk playing leading roles.
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Chardonnay “Sonoma County” 07
This is the wine we wanted to make in 2006, but had neither the raw material nor the facility to do so. In 2007, it all came together-a small, concentrated crop of Chardonnay and a premium winemaking facility giving us full control of the elevage. What is immediately noticeable in the wine is freshness. Where the 2006 was rich, this wine is vivid. Unencumbered by oak, the fruit and soil character are on display. A band of chalky minerality cuts through the green pears, grapefruit, and chamomile blossoms.
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Chardonnay “Sonoma County” 08
2008 will perhaps be remembered as the year North Coast fruit growers would just as soon forget. Record frosts, drought, and fires made it one of the more challenging harvests in California’s history. That said, quality was superb. Like 2007, we saw a very small crop of highly concentrated, beautifully balanced Chardonnay. This wine is lower in alcohol and higher in acidity than the 07. An orgy of orchard fruits—more specifically stone-fruit pits—meet with rock dust and dried lemon peels. Mouth watering.
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Chardonnay "Carneros" 08
This is a new wine for us—it is the sister of the 07 Pinot Noir Carneros. Why the interest in Carneros? Because it’s COOL there. And all that coolness in growing, translates to brightness in wine. Who doesn’t love vibrant chardonnay? This wine is from the four best blocks in Dale Ricci’s fog-drenched vineyard. It shows the character of the vintage: low alcohol (13.4%) & high acidity. Lots of mineral, pineapple core, miso paste, and lemon curd. At this price, it should go fast.
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Chardonnay "Stuhlmuller" 05
Citrus blossoms, white pepper, and crushed rocks explode out of the glass. The flavors are balanced by a gripping minerality and a playful citrus quality recalling old fashioned candied lemon-drops.
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Chardonnay “Stuhlmuller” 06
The Stuhlmuller is a much different animal than last year. We willingly paid a premium for the fruit this year in exchange for a significant reduction in grape yields. So, there is a lot less wine, but a noticeable increase in amplitude. We also let the whole thing go au natural. The 06, comparatively, has more resonance than the 05. The hallmark characteristics of this vineyard are here--lemon pith, candied ginger, Asian pear, chalk--but they seem to be delivered with more clarity.
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Chardonnay "Michaud" 05
This immensely concentrated wine (the result of record low grape yields) smells of spiced baking apples, preserved lemons, and wet limestone. There too is a haunting white pear quality. The flavors, reminiscent of Meursault, include honey, gingerbread, and liquid mineral.
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Chardonnay “Michaud” 06
If you are looking for an overtly fruity California Chardonnay, this is not the wine. If you want to “taste stones and shake hands with a mountain” perhaps you’re on the right track here. This wine, free of any oakiness, gives a clear translation of site. It is all about rocks and underbrush. There are hints of green pear and star-fruit in the nose, but the flavors are pure soil. Of special note is the texture of this wine, which grips the palate and invites contemplation.
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Chardonnay “Michaud” 07
Kevin O’Connor says this wine reminds him of “licking a rock.” Tanzer says “it’s wild ride from citrus to pit fruit and orange marmalade on the palate, with dusty minerals adding grip.” Our sommelier friends compare it to Chablis. What do we like about the wine? That it has a distinct identity tied to the place it grows. When chardonnay grows in these Chalone limestone soils, exciting things happen. Crab season is upon us. Crack and swirl!
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Chardonnay “Demuth” 07
A wine our sommelier friends seem to buy without fail. It is also for those who are not shocked by the thought of chewing on stones. Incredibly compelling plant material here: stressed out, old-vine Wente clone chardonnay on original rootstock growing out of very rocky mountainous soil. The wine smells of pressed white flowers, citrus oil and rock dust. The attack finds poached pears, orange sherbet, and minerals galore. A low-alcohol, age-worthy wine.
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Chardonnay “Charles Heintz” 06
The rich, amber color suggests the use of oak barrels (none were used). The perfume is at once exotic and high toned recalling night blooming jasmine, ginger, and lemon blossoms. But there are deeper, bass-tones too like raw honey and wet slate. The attack is mouth-coating, demonstrating the wine’s prowess through its sheer viscosity. Still, a vibrant acidity cuts through the honeycomb, candied ginger, and lemon peel flavors.
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Chardonnay “Charles Heintz” 07
The 07 Heintz is a distant relative of the 06. It was born of a classic Sonoma Coast vintage: dry, cool, and consistent. Where the 06 was heavy on amplitude, this 07 is diamond cut. It hints at the exotica, but is held taught by ripe, cleansing acidity. Like a kernel of sun, enveloped by a cold mountain stream. Prepare for a bouquet of orange blossoms, kettle corn, and wet sand. The flavors include lemon oil, jasmine, and a chalky minerality. Needs time to reveal its true potential.
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Chardonnay Late Harvest "Charles Heintz" 06
This is a wine for hedonists. It boasts exotica usually reserved for forbidden Asian kingdoms—jasmine flowers, candied ginger, and mandarin peel. One swirl of the glass reveals other layers too---apple skin, freshly crushed cinnamon sticks, and a beguiling mineral character. The wine’s flavors are delivered with a surprising amount restraint. The warm lemon honey, baked apples, and toasted nuts coat your palate with limpid style.
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Chardonnay “Durell” 06
A Herculean effort from a challenging year in Sonoma Valley/Carneros. The wine smells like the pits of white peaches, fresh key lime, and crushed chalk. The flavors mirror the aroma somewhat—more stone fruits, citrus peel, and something reminiscent of sun-baked, wild herbs. What we like about it is the balance and the purity. It makes us think of summer, eating outdoors, and the bounty of the sea.
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Chardonnay “Durell” 07
The 06 Durell sold out so fast it made the wait for this 07 seem endless. But it’s finally ready! Tanzer says: “Musky pear and peach aromas are complemented by green cardamom and honeysuckle qualities. An exotic cotton candy quality comes up with air, joining sweet pear and melon flavors and a late note of pear skin. There's an awful lot going on here. Utterly singular chardonnay… the food possibilities for this wine are endless.”
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Blended wines were perhaps an inevitable diversion from our Chardonnay/Pinot Noir program. These wines were inspired by the egalitarian "everyday wines" of rural Europe--especially those found along the Mediterranean coastal regions of Spain and France. We love the medium-weight, fruit-driven reds and the refreshing, "gulpable" roses that make just about any plate of food taste better. Rather than expressing the character of a unique site, the goal of these wines is to provide balanced, food-friendly wines for under $20.
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Rose 07
April sunshine in a bottle. It brings to mind eating al fresco by the sea. The wine smells like peach blossoms and watermelon rind and something wonderfully herbaceous. You can almost smell the rippling acidity coursing through the wine. The Pinot Noir stands tall in this wine. The flavor wheel spins, but most often lands on quince, unripe strawberries, and blood oranges. Is your mouth watering yet? Pale in color, low in alcohol, eminently drinkable. Buy it by the case and enjoy your summer.
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Rose 08
An eminently gulpable rose made from 100% Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir grown in the cool, windy Petaluma Gap. The wine is a saignee, or bleed off of our soon-to-be released 08 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. It was fermented in stainless steel using a native yeast. Darker in hue than our 2007 Rose, and intensely varietal--this wine really smells and tasted like Pinot Noir. Aromas of sour red cherries, watermelon rind, and quince spin out of the glass. Tastes like rhubarb, wild strawberries, and blood oranges. Enjoy with a bowl of summer Gazpacho and ample sunshine.
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Indica 06
Bright, and lively on its feet. A wine of medium weight and moderate alcohol. Seductive and feminine with flesh in all the right places. Driven by Morello cherries, violets and freshly ground Moroccan spice. Reminds us of a young Dolcetto or a cru Beaujolais.
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Indica 07
The 07 Indica has less tannin and more satin. The additions of some cold-climate Grenache and Mourvedre produced unexpected high tones in the wine. Now the entire orchestra is playing. Bouquet of morello cherries, red plums, and rhubarb, accented with hints of baking spice. Tastes of sour cherries, dried blueberries, and something wonderfully herbaceous. The wine will transport you to southern France. And the 07 is rocking a screw cap! Twist and bliss.
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While this varietal seemed to come of age in America only recently, its Burgundian cousins were early to inspire us. Pinot Noir, if appropriately handled, can produce a transcendental experience. This elusive grape is universally regarded as the most soil-susceptible, making vineyard selection paramount. We will bottle several gently-treated, single vineyard Pinot Noirs from “fringe sites”, or places with extreme climate and tougher soil.
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Pinot Noir "Michaud" 05
Pinot Noir clearly has a vocation in the limestone-rich soils of the Michaud Vineyard. This sleeping giant, buttressed by racy acidity, suggests excellent cellaring potential. There is a wonderful tension between the flesh and the bones of this wine, recalling, dare we say...Volnay? Black raspberries, violets, and damp forest floor aromas are revealed with some airing of the wine. The flavors include cassis, dried cranberry, and wet stone.
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Pinot Noir "Michaud" 06
This wine embodies our philosophy. There is no denying its provenance. It is Chalone-in all of its high-and-dry, limestone-and-granite glory. Where the 2005 bottling was broad, the 2006 bottling is deep. There are sour red cherries soaking in a spicy Christmas brew-something with cloves and nutmeg and cinnamon sticks. And there is that stone-y minerality, evident in all the wines from this noble site. Very taught and structured. Wants to rest, and rise another day.
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Pinot Noir “Michaud” 07
A reasonable parent would never admit to a favorite child. But who can be reasonable when presented with such utter brilliance? Tasting the wine from barrel, super-star sommelier Jason Alexander called it Ambroise Corton Grand Cru. Many esteemed colleagues, upon tasting the wine last summer at Oregon’s International Pinot Noir Celebration, used the word “revelation.” Tanzer’s words: “potent, exotic, mineral-driven.” Extremely cellar-worthy.
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Pinot Noir "Klindt" 06
A darker, more brooding wine than both the Michaud and Hirsch. It is quite concentrated-the result of low yields-but still very alive with a ripe, rippling acidity. The fruit quality is noir-- black raspberries and boysenberries. These are not cooked berries, but the fresh, sweet-and-sour variety that make your mouth water. Accompanying the fruit is an earthy element like dried mushroom and damp forest floor-aromas you'd expect to encounter in these foggy coastal environs.
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Pinot Noir "Klindt" 07
Bob and Claudia's vineyard sits in a "marginal area" bordering Roederer's sparkling wine vineyards. This fact gives some insight into just how cool their microclimate is. All of this coolness translates to longer hang times for the fruit. And that means more complexity. This wine is concentrated without being heavy. There are the signature flavors/aromas of the Anderson Valley which we love: red raspberries & rose petals. Needs time or a serious decanting.
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Pinot Noir "Hirsch" 06
This wine is inherently problematic. There is too little of it and nothing behind it in the pipeline. The 2006 bumper crop in David Hirsch's vineyard provided a once-in-ten-year opportunity to get some of this highly allocated, internationally celebrated Pinot Noir. We got five tons and made 256 cases. Here, Pinot Noir's orchestral prowess is on display. The seductive Mount Eden clone hits octaves so high, you wonder how such an elixir came from humble grapes. It's as though a liqueur was made from rose petals and red raspberries.
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Pinot Noir "Carneros" 07
As our friend Rhett at Bounty Hunter said, "This is what Carneros Pinot should, but very seldom does, taste like." From a vineyard bathed in cold ocean fog and benefitting from a patch of rare alluvial soil. Explosive bouquet of red plums, sour black cherries, and lilac. The attack displays Kevin's deft hand with whole cluster fermentation-a dual between the sweetness of 07 Pinot fruit and the savory of herbaceous stems. Mouthwatering.
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Pinot Noir “Hennis” 07
A little gem of a vineyard tucked away the Green Valley portion of the Russian River Valley--the known repository for the cold, ocean-born fog that creeps up river. 2007 was the "Virgin Vintage" at Henni's, or the first year fruit was harvested from these vines. It is believed that a vineyard's truest expression of place is revealed in the inaugural year. Prepare for pomegranate, sour red cherries, and something haunting best described as "sea-shore decay." Only a scant 41 cases produced. **FOR PURCHASE VIA WEBSITE ONLY**
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