LIOCO line-up

Chardonnay, Kevin O' Connor, Lioco, Pinot Noir

We boarded a plane from Santa Rosa to LAX yesterday afternoon, and Kevin O’ Connor of LIOCO happened to be on our same flight. Call this a sign from above that it’s about time we make good on our promise to write up the wines we tasted with Kevin a week ago.

For those of you unfamiliar with LIOCO, a bit of background…only a couple of vintages young, Lioco is a small winery crafting Sonoma wines, many of them from single vineyards. Its principals have a storied history in the wine and food industries of California: Matt Licklider spent many years at North Berkeley Imports, handling sales for some of the world’s finest wine labels. Kevin O’ Connor continues to head up the wine program at Spago in Beverly Hills. And winemaker Kevin Kelley got a degree at Davis and spent his formative years in Burgundy before returning to California. Licklider and O’ Connor teamed in 2005 and the rest, as they say, is history…

From our perspective, this is a team with love for the old world, but with great understanding of the new world, from both a production and marketing standpoint. They create wines that are layered but accessible — that have old world substance and new world appeal.

Interestingly, LIOCO was recently written up as a producer to watch in the July 31st, 2008 issue of the Wine Spectator. While the capsule on them states that their Chards receive no new oak, it omits the fact that the white wines are completely unoaked, spending their entire pre-bottle lives in stainless tanks. Strange omission in our minds; in particular, James Laube’s note for the Lioco 2006 Sonoma County Chardonnay ascribes the wine a score of 90, praising its “light toasty oak notes” on the finish.

We wonder if Laube ascribed the oakiness to the wine because he liked it (and he assumes all Chards he likes receive oak treatment - NB, none of the Unoaked wines in the side-bar on page 58 received more than 89 points)? Or did he mix up his notes, printing Kistler copy in Lioco’s place by accident? We’re guessing the former, not the latter. Like the Rosés that never seem to garner a score of more than 89, unoaked Chards seem to have a glass ceiling for points in the Spectator.

Besides the white wines being unoaked, it’s important to note that the wines all undergo natural fermentation with only native and indigenous yeasts used. The reds do see oak treatment, but barrels are neutral for the most part, with no more than 10 to 15% new oak used in any one bottling. Also, the labels for these wines offer up all sorts of information, including brief tasting notes, and suggestions for food pairings. In fact, all the wines have a great acidic backbone to them, making them ideal for drinking alongside food.

Philosophically, we think this fits in with the old world/new world balancing act that Kevin and Matt have taken on, as the wines are expressions of new world terroir, but in a more old world context. This is something we dig about them.

Now for our impressions of the wines we tasted with the ‘OCO’ of LIOCO (we’ll be bringing in many of the wines to our shop, and you can order by clicking here):

2007 Sonoma County Chardonnay - This wine comes from three vineyard sites, in the Alexander Valley, Russian River, and Dry Creek areas of Sonoma County. It’s filled with really nice, pure fruit and doesn’t have any of the popcorn butter that can be found on so many Cali Chards at this price point ($20 a bottle). There’s nothing fake about it. The palate is dominated by lemon curd, with a tiny bit of petrol to round it out. A particularly long finish for a value wine, and quite refreshing. 6890 cases produced.

2006 Stuhlmuller Vineyard Chardonnay - Very different from the Sonoma County Chard, with Mott’s Apple Juice and some ginger on the nose and palate. The combo of spice and mineral that this wine lends is really pleasing, and the zip at the end just goes on and on. FYI, this went through full malo, but it began and was completed naturally. This is the bargain of the line-up at $25 a bottle, with a mere 468 cases produced.

2006 Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay - The vineyard was subject to a botrytis attack, although the resulting wine here 100% dry, and not a sweetie as we normally associate with noble rot. The nose is really beautiful, with cooked honey and caramel coming through. The color is a golden honey, and all of this would seem to point to oak but we were assured by Kevin that none of the Lioco wines see oak. All of this was the vineyard and growing conditions of 2006 coming through in our glass! In the mouth, though the acidity level is less than the Stuhlmuller, the finish is one that lingers (long finishes seem to be a theme with the Lioco wines). This is a really interesting wine, albeit less our preferred style than the Stuhlmuller. $45 a bottle, only 332 cases produced.

2007 Rosé, California - What an amazing color this Rosé is, totally peachy in every way. This has a terrific mouthfeel, and we recommend it as a Rosé that red wine drinkers should be able to embrace. It’s grainy, possibly from the Carignane that makes up a portion of the blend (the dominant fruit is Pinot Noir). Again, great acid balanced with the fruit (peach and strawberry) make for a perfect wine that will suit drinkers long after the summer is over, though it’s completely refreshing in the sweltering weather. $16 a bottle, with a scant 227 cases produced.

2006 Michaud Vineyard Pinot Noir - Almost all of the oak for the Michaud Pinot Noir was neutral (10% or so was new). The ruby color on this gives a preview of the red fruit that dominates the wine, with raspberry and cherry really coming through. This has fantastic grittiness on the tongue, with the fruit and acid dancing almost like pop rocks (and we mean this in a good way, not as an indication of fakeness or volatility). This is drinkable now but when the acidity mellows out in a while, this should be dynamite-tastic! $45 a bottle, 311 cases produced.

2006 Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir - Cloudier than the Michaud, the Hirsch is much softer on the palate at the moment, and is drinking just beautifully (even so, we think we prefer the Michaud). It’s made from old vines, and the nose is pure spun sugar, cotton candy, red cherry Charms lollipop. If you were going to have one of the Lioco Pinots without food, this would win; with food, we’d choose the Michaud. $55 a bottle, 250 cases produced.

2006 Indica Red, Mendocino County - We admit we didn’t get the reference to the ‘other’ cash crop of Mendocino County until it was explained to us, but we’re just not that hip here at d547 (we’re not card carrying members of the “Farmacy” after all). The bold name of the wine matches its bold color. Just gorgeous, deep, crimson brick red. Who knew there was old vine Carignane lurking in California? Apparently, Kevin and Matt did…and they blended it with 13% Petite Sirah. The Indica is a biodynamic wine that got better for us with each sip. Kevin was kind enough to leave the bottle with us, and before we knew it, it was gone. $20 a bottle, 1860 cases produced.

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