2019 LIOCO Skycrest Vineyard Chardonnay, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California (750ml)   

About the Icons
Matt & Sara Licklider's Lioco Winery keeps delivering new and delicious surprises, and this is the first time we have worked with Skycrest Vineyard Chardonnay. If your frame of reference for Chardonnay has been more Burgundy than California, then you have a treat in store. Producer notes ~ "This elusive vineyard is pitched along a series of ridge lines at 2500′ in bucolic Anderson Valley. Its tough mountainous soils range from grey shale to decomposed sandstone with veins of quartz crystal. The clonal material differs by block—this wine is a blend of Clones 72 + 4. This eastern edge of the valley is subject to extreme temperature swings, late flowering, and naturally low yields.

From the rugged mountains of Mendocino County to the foggy valleys below Santa Cruz, there is a finite number of great Northern California vineyard sites. Our charge is to find the best sites and to render wines that are singular in their expression, and that tell a story about a place. Owned and operated by husband/wife duo Matt and Sara Licklider, LIOCO consists of a small team producing wines sourced from exceptional vineyards spanning 200 miles and three counties (Santa Cruz, Sonoma, and Mendocino)."