2018 La Marisma Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mnts Magnum

When it comes to Chardonnay, LIOCO has a deep bench. Over the last 15 years, we've contracted grapes from some of the state’s finest growers—Hanzell, Heintz, Durell, Demuth, Chuy. What these sites had in common were exceedingly old vines, dry farming, heritage clones, and organic/bio viticulture. Despite the relative warmth of the vineyards on this roster, we're happy to report that nearly all of these wines from 2011-2017 have aged gracefully. They tasted pretty good in their youth too! The black sheep La Marisma is cut from a different cloth. Tucked into a boxed canyon 4 miles from the sea, it's the coldest site we’ve ever sourced grapes from. It is tremendously difficult to farm here, to protect against the constant pressure of moisture, to capture the scant rays of sun afforded to each cluster of grapes. Many clusters in fact end up on the ground—birdfeed. What comes home to Sonoma County are several bins of miniaturized Chardonnay bunches, yielding a paltry amount of juice, but producing a wine of unmatched precision and cut. We adore Chablis and this may be as close as you can get in California. Chiseled.

AROMA

hyacinth, white guava, lime curd

FLAVOR

jasmine, pomelo, mineral

FOOD PAIRINGS

smoked mackerel rillettes, cacio e pepe, miso baked cod