I just got back from a great Northern California trip. Surfing, wine tasting and eating. It was quite a hedonistic trip, and it reminded me why I get out there as much as I can.
I had tons of great wine, and I’ll post some notes at some point soon, but I had to give this wine a shout-out. I’d never heard of it, but it sounded interesting on the wine list at Chez Panisse, so I went for it. Definitely one of the most memorable wines of the trip.
2009 Lioco Chardonnay Demuth Vineyard (USA, California, Anderson Valley)
I chose this wine from the Chez Pannise list knowing it would be good, but I had no idea how good. This chardonnay is simply stunning. Intoxicating aromas of meyer lemon, margarita salt, minerals and brie rind. Over the course of the evening, a bit of honeydew melon came out. This wine isn’t oaked and it doesn’t need it. Tangy acid hits the palate upon the first sip and carries through to the finish. This wine is almost Chablis-like with its mineral and lemon flavors, but the fruit shows through with lemon curd and tangerine. Pure, vibrant and simply beautiful. My girlfriend, a fan of oaked chardonnays, was amazed by this wine as well. It stood up to oysters with its minerals and acid, as well as with a hallibut in a green olive and herb sauce. I would love to taste this again in five years. I’d love to throw this wine into a tasting of Grand Cru Chablis because I have a feeling it would hold up very well.
Isaac, I agree, it’s a great wine, but it’s sourced from the Anderson Valley. The vineyard is on a ridgetop, in the hills above the town of Boonville, in the warmer end of the appellation; and perhaps most importantly, at a relatively high elevation, and open, windy exposure. The location might well account for similar characteristics that one might find in an SC chard.
For those of you keeping score, this vineyard is right above Cerise and adjacent to Rich Savoy’s Deer Meadows vineyard, which many of you know from the Littorai One Acre bottling. Not a bad set of neighbors.
Isn’t this kinda the classic cool spot in a warm area thing? Above the fogline, I’ve heard that cerise, and deer meadow ripen a bit later than savoy for example.
Hey Dan, thanks for the information. I didn’t see the appellation on the bottle, but found it in cellartracker as a SC chardonnay. I’ll have to update it. I’m a huge fan of the Anderson Valley, and Breggo in particular, so I’m happy to hear this is Anderson Valley fruit. Cheers.
Another fan of Lioco Chardonnay and Pinot Noir–particularly the Charles Heintz Chards and Michaud Pinot Noir. I met the winemakers at a tasting at Burgundy Wine Company in New York City and have been ordering from them since.
2009 Lioco Hanzell Chard a few nights ago was off the charts good. These guys too often are left out of the conversation when talking about great up and coming Pinot and Chard producers in CA. Very reasonably priced too.
Thanks, Isaac, let me know if you’ll be passing through town…
Hi Corey, I was out of town but I wanted to get back to you. In hindsight, I edited and took out the “fogline” bit, but, you’re spot on, it is a “cool spot in a warm area”, where those vineyards are situated. The elevation, coupled with the exposure to the wind, in particular, make for a tough time ripening. We haven’t worked with Demuth or Cerise, but got some fruit from Deer Meadow in 2010, and it we picked it almost 2 weeks after Savoy. Of course, that’s oversimplifying, because rootstock, clone, soil, pruning regimen, crop load, etc all play a role as well.