February 4, 2014: Lioco Chardonnay 2012

Last night Paul and I had a late night lentil and pumpkin soup. The recipe was from the book  THE BEST OF COOKING LIGHT. And the best part of the meal was ....THE WINE. Seriously, don't make that soup!
We discovered this really nice and reasonably priced and AVAILABLE IN KNOXVILLE chardonnay at a "throwdown" party last year.  It was available at Downtown Wine and Spirits at a very reasonable $11 a bottle.
LIOCO, a Sonoma County white wine,  is the joint vision of Matt Licklider, an import specialist, and Kevin O'Connor, sommolier and the Wine Director at Spago-Beverly Hills to create wines of place. The name is a hybrid of their surnames. Their first bottle was produced in 2006. They also produce a very nice Pinot Noir.  Interestingly, they aren't a vineyard. They have been referred to as a "virtual winery." They source their wine from "high end" local growers and the actual wine making takes place in Santa Rosa. LIOCO’s winemaking practices are methodically minimalistic; hand sorting, wild yeast fermentations, low or no wood contact and no fining or filtration.  The grapes are whole cluster pressed then aged six on the lees in stainless. The collective results of these vineyard and cellar principles are expressive, well-balanced wines that over-deliver for their price. They are expanding their repetoire of varietals as well, so expect more reasonably priced tasty everyday wines from this duo.

JUST THE FACTS

This wine pours a very clear and straw yellow.

On the nose, we detected peach and an almost buttery essence. Others have detected apricots and oak.

On the palate, there is again peach, lemon zest, a bit of toffee flavor  and a brisk acidity.  Others have noticed citrus fruits, pear, apple, passionfruit, brioche, ocean air  and  "clean stone." The finish is crisp and lemony.

Cellaring will likely not add anything to the taste on this product.

Ratings are pretty consisently between 88-90.

We purchased this for $11 but it seems to have become a bit pricier, but still mostly under $20

So knock back a glass or two. In fact, it might be too drinkable.


WINE QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“I should say upfront that I have never been in a cellar in my life. In fact, I can see no reason why anyone should ever go into a cellar unless there is wine involved.”
― Rachel Hawkins, Hex Hall