Lioco Estero Chardonnay 2015 | Top 100 Cult Chardonnay Winery

Despite the modest price tag, the Lioco Estero Chardonnay 2015 is one of the most refined, complex, and mineral Russian River Chardonnays of the vintage. Pale green-gold. Piercing mineral aromas of apple, honey, and lemon peel, tinged with a flinty minerality. Broad, expansive and yet terrifically light on its feet. Yet filled with a tightly wound mix of citrus, pear, Citronelle, and mint. And finishing with terrific Meursaultien tension and persistence.  While gorgeous on release, drink now or lay down for 6-8 years.

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The stars fell into place in rain-starved 2015.  Most of all a growing season that gave way to a historically low-yield harvest.  While producing tiny clusters that Licklider says could “fit into the palm of your hand.  Pressing the meager amount of juice from those clusters, he says, was “super-charged.  So, the result might be the most powerful and complex “Estero” to date. Broad yet piercing, citrus-rich and mineral.  Hence, the Lioco Estero Chardonnay 2015 shows why this wine is found on some of the finest lists in the country.  And why it deserves a spot in your cellar. California Chardonnay lovers, make some room.

Found at the finest Michelin-starred Seafood Restaurants

LIOCO’s founding partners first made their name by scouring coastal California for cool vineyard sites and rare soils.  In addition by traveling tirelessly to pour their wines one-on-one for sommeliers from San Francisco to Stockholm. This eventually earned them impressive wine list placements in restaurants like The French Laundry and Manhattan’s Jean-Georges.

Founded by industry insiders who bootstrapped their way into high-quality winemaking, LIOCO’s expressions of unique vineyard sites and fascinating soils earned them a spot among Wine & Spirits magazine’s Top 100 Wineries in the world in 2017. Telling LIOCO’s story is a stunning roster of restaurants—Michelin 3-star temple The French Laundry, their 2-star Healdsburg neighbor SingleThread, and The Little Nell in Aspen among them—that feature their wines. Citrusy, refined, mineral, and complex, this Chardonnay is featured by the glass at chef Frank Stitt’s revered Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham, at seafood mecca The Ordinary in Charleston, and should be considered a must-have in your cellar.

Co-founder Matt Licklider

Now run by co-founder Matt Licklider and his wife Sara, LIOCO’s reputation as a producer of unique California wines has, without a doubt, eclipsed its charming founding story. While this evolution is best embodied by LIOCO’s new tasting room.  Located on the town square in Sonoma County’s new gourmet Mecca of Healdsburg, where, just steps away, Michelin 2-star darling SingleThread offers a half-dozen LIOCO wines.