6580039974994
$39.99
A delicious Pinot Noir from Lioco, one of our favorite new producers.
This is cool-climate California Pinot Noir at its very best, showing the restraint and elegance daily fog and Pacific Ocean breezes bring with no loss of ripe, generous, California fruit. There's plenty going on aromatically and on the palate - spiced raspberry and cherry, a touch of orange peel, a hint of cola. But mainly it just feels good in your mouth, with a rich, creamy, feel cleaned up by a burst of acidity and very fine tannins. Really delicious, and a bargain. A selection of premier Mendocino County vineyards were selected for this wine, with an emphasis on dry-farming, older vines, and sustainable viticulture.
LIOCO was conceived in the alley behind Spago Beverly Hills by wine director Kevin O’Connor and wine salesman Matt Licklider. The two colleagues, critical of the heavy-handed wines of the day, wondered if it were possible to make some local wines that favored nuance over sheer power. In 2005, relying on nothing more than their palates and their rolodexes, the two embarked on a winemaking odyssey. Europe was the inspiration, as were the more restrained California wines of the 1980’s.
Today the winery is owned and operated by the Licklider family. Husband/wife duo Matt and Sara Licklider and their small team produce the wines at a state-of-the-art winemaking cooperative in Santa Rosa. All of the fruit is purchased from exceptional vineyards spanning 200-miles and three counties (Santa Cruz, Sonoma, and Mendocino).
$22.99
New release! Utilizing different fruit sources mostly throughout Sonoma County (but also neighboring counties of Marin and Mendocino), the BloodRoot winemakers created a Pinot Noir blend that effortlessly melds cool, coastal Pinot elegance with the velvety polish of culty high-end Pinot producers.
93 Points Wine Enthusiast: "The Bloodroot Pinot Noir is a secret collaboration between several wine product makers with great vineyard sourcing who have come together here to make a masterful, value-minded blend. The majority of the grapes come from Russian River Valley, with others from Sonoma Coast, Marin, Anderson Valley and Bennett Valley. Tea, earth, stone and herb tones enliven a core of cranberry and rhubarb, offering length and depth. The tannins are velvety smooth and seductive."
BloodRoot is a secret collaboration between acclaimed winemakers. This group has deep contacts and vineyard sourcing which they knew they would create great wines for relatively modest prices. This group is also masterful at creating blends. They're the chefs that could walk into your house tonight and make a Michelin-starred meal out of anything you have in your fridge and pantry. They want to be anonymous because they have other projects where their wines sell for 4-5x as much money with scores from critics in the 95-100 point range.
$27.00
93 Points WS
Always one of the favorite California Zins we carry.
93 Points Wine Spectator: "Plump and luscious, this is jam-packed with fruit. Lively blackberry, pepper and other spice box aromas lead to ripe and rich flavors of black raspberry, caramel and licorice. There are more complex Zinfandels, but few that are more enjoyable to drink. Drink now through 2027."
Wine Enthusiast: "You could use this as a teaching tool for classic Sonoma County Zinfandel. It's full-bodied, dry and spicy, with briary flavors of wild berries, mocha, tobacco, leather and exotic spices. More importantly, it's absolutely delicious. The grapes come from Seghesio's best vineyards in the Alexander and Dry Creek valleys. An astonishing value."
$37.00
95 Points
Gary Farrell makes some of the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs coming out of the Russian RIver Valley. Highly recommended.95 Points - limited
95 Points Wine Enthusiast "Editor's Choice": "This wine offers such tremendous value and quality - it should be on everyone’s go-to list for Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Lime, fig and grapefruit rind flavors ride along a lifted character of crushed stone texture and bright acidity. This wine is impressive from the detailed start to the lengthy finish."
The Gary Farrell Russian River Ranches is a layered and complex Chardonnay that brings together fruit from several of the winery's favorite Russian River Valley vineyard sites. Anchored by the naturally balanced character of Westside Farms and intriguing floral and stone fruit notes from Bacigalupi Vineyard, the wine's great concentration and structure derive from the nearby Rochioli and Allen vineyards. Olivet Lane Vineyard, featuring the Wente clone, adds refreshing citrus tones and excellent acidity.