Lioco, 2008 Indica, Carignan, Mendocino

Matt Licklider and Kevin O’Connor’s 2008 Indica is an interesting blend of old-vine carignan (66%), mourvedre (25%), and petite sirah (9%).  At the girl & the fig it’s sold by the glass and goes nicely with our fromage tower.

From the website: “The fruit was hand harvested, sorted and then fermented in stainless steel tanks using a wild yeast. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally and finished completely. The wine remained in neutral French oak on fine-lees for 10-months and bottled without fining or filtration.” 

“A selection of benchland vineyards in Mendocino’s redwood valley compose this wine. The fruit comes from predominately old-vines which are dry-farmed and head-pruned. This cool, upland valley supports gradual (and often late) ripening. The soil is red clay strewn with fist sized rocks. The combination of vine age, an extended growing season, and tougher soil conspires to produce complex, intense wines.”

About the proprietors:

Matt

Matt Licklider-

A late bloomer, Matt had his wine epiphany during the winter of 1995 while waiting tables in Aspen, Colorado to support a ski habit. It was a blind taste of Chambolle Musigny and the eloquent comments of Master Sommelier Damon Ornowski that sent him reeling. In short order Matt went to work for Boulder-based, boutique wine distributor, The Maxwell Company where he soon became the leading sales person. In August of 2005, Matt co-founded LIOCO with friend and colleague, Kevin O'Connor. Matt lives in San Francisco with his wife, Anneka. Wine aside, his passions include yoga, surfing, skiing, and cooking dinner with friends.

Kevin

Kevin O’Connor- 

Kevin cut his teeth on the "Old World" white wines his parents use to put on the dinner table. They drank white Bordeaux and Alsatian Riesling, and in particular white Burgundies with revered village names like Chablis, Pouilly Fuisse and Rully.

After a series of high-profile sommelier positions, Kevin was hired as wine director at Spago-Beverly Hills in 2001. His experience as a sommelier and wine director inevitably drew him towards winemaking. In 2000, Kevin harvested four tons of Sauvignon Blanc grapes from Rancho Sisquoc in Santa Maria valley and under the tutelage of friendly wine-making veterans Seth Kunin (Kunin Wines) and Steve Clifton (Brewer-Clifton/Palmina) made his first cuvee of stainless- steel wine. The idea of making wine without the use of oak vessels was immediately intriguing to Kevin because it allowed the grape to express itself unmasked and unflavored. The non-reactive ability of stainless-steel seemed to suit this desire.

“Lioco is a fusion of our last names, Licklider and O'Connor. LI-cklider + OCO-nnor = LIOCO.”

Aroma: Cassis, graphite, kalamata olive Flavors of plum, baking spice, violet

Body: Medium

Cases produced: 2300

Skylark Grenache 2007, Mendocino

The winemakers and owners at the Skylark Wine Company are good friends and together have made an exuberant Grenache.  

From the website: “Charlie Sawyer’s Grenache Vineyard sits above Ukiah at just under 1000 feet elevation.  This gently sloping, southwest facing block is 2.64 acres planted to the Tablas Creek clone of Grenache.  This is our first release from Charlie’s vineyard, and we definitely believe we have found our home with Grenache.  

Fermented in small, open top tank with 8% while clusters, it spent sixteen days on the skins with alternating punch downs and pump-overs, then racked to all used French cooperage.”

About the winemakers: “ John Lancaster, co-proprietor of Skylark Wine Company, is a graduate of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. His passion for wine grew while working in the restaurant industry and brought him to the culinary destination of San Francisco. As the Wine Director of the wildly eclectic Cypress Club, he was recognized by the Wine Spectator for his wine list. For the past eleven years, John has been the Wine Director at the James Beard award winning Boulevard Restaurant. During his tenure at Boulevard, John has traveled extensively throughout the world's wine regions studying wine production. In addition to his professional duties at Boulevard, John is also a professional wine judge and consultant.”

“Robert Perkins, co-proprietor of Skylark Wine Company, is a graduate of Fine Art Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. His designs are featured on every Skylark Wine label. When Robert is not in his studio in San Francisco, he is pursuing his other creative outlet, wine. With his expertise in the wine industry, Robert has been a wine consultant for several Bay Area restaurants. He has also worked hands-on in production at several small wineries including Nalle, Scherrer and Sean Thackrey.”

Sondra and John have known John Lancaster and Robert Perkins for at least 8 years seeing them off and on at Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles.

Aroma: Red cherry, kirsch, raspberry, plum.

Palate: juicy, ripe cherry, balanced tannins and structure

Vintage: 2007
Varietal: Grenache
Appellation: Mendocino

2006 Elizabeth Spencer, Grenache, Mendocino County

Elizabeth Pressler and Spencer Graham, husband and wife, formed Elizabeth Spencer in 1998.

The Grenache is from a single vineyard with very stony soils located in Mendocino just east of Ukiah. Due to the rough terrain, the vines struggle through the growing season creating grape clusters with very tiny berries yet full of exuberant aromatics and flavors. The soils here are a textbook example of the theory proving that growing vinifera fruit in rugged terroir does achieve the fullest, most complex components in the resultant wine.

Body: medium
Color: deep garnet
Aromas: black cherry, black tea, lilac, white pepper, raspberry, spice
Varietal Blend: 95% Grenache, 5% Durif
Case production: 350 cases
Ageing: 14 months used and new French oak

From their website: The wine is supple and round on the entry, with grip and texture building beneath layers of ripe plum, Bing cherry. This mouth-filling wine is firm and refreshing on the finish.

Winemaking: Grapes were hand-harvested in late October, removed from the stems and placed in a small open-top tank. After light maceration, the skins and the pulp sat together for six days prior to fermentation in order to extract as much of the bright fruit flavors as possible. Native yeasts were encouraged, and the wine was punched down by hand, pressed just before dryness and moved to barrel to complete fermentation. Barrel-aged for 14 months, the tannins integrated seamlessly with the body of the wine prior to bottling.

Eat with: charcuterie platter, pâté, rillettes and terrine.

Website: http://www.elizabethspencerwines.com/