We’re all spending more time in our homes than we’d like to these days. Maybe that’s why I fell so hard for today’s extraordinary Anderson Valley Pinot Noir from LIOCO. It’s a breath of fresh air in a bottle, every bit as evocative and wild as the redwood groves of Mendocino County.
In fact, the wine is literally called “La Selva,” or “The Woods.” It’s the trip outside that we’re all craving, without having to leave the comfort of your kitchen table. Fresh, earthy, and balanced, this wine epitomizes everything I love about Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, which is something I’ve come to expect from LIOCO: This is a vintner whose vineyard sources are scattered all over California, and the wines reflect that—their trueness to their places of origin is always the calling card. Founders Kevin O’Connor and Matt Licklider were suffering from serious palate burnout after years of selling rich, over-extracted New World wines. Starting LIOCO in 2005 was an act of resistance, a return to the restraint of the ’80s, with an emphasis on old vines, interesting soil, and heritage grape clones. “La Selva” is a great introduction to both their ‘house style,’ such as it is, and the promise of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir in general. At four years of bottle age, it’s just shedding its baby fat and emerging sleek, pure, and pliant. Sourced from three heritage vineyards, this bottle epitomizes the generosity of Californian Pinot without compromising the electricity of natural acidity. “La Selva” will whisk you away to the North Coast in no time; its price is a small one to pay for a much-needed trip to the wild side.
Today, Matt Licklider and his wife, Sara, run LIOCO out of a cooperative facility in Santa Rosa. Their diverse vineyard sources span some 200 miles across Mendocino, Sonoma, and Santa Cruz counties, with a focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Today’s Anderson Valley-designate bottling consists of three Californian “grand crus”: Cerise, Romani, and Wentzel. It’s rare to find a wine made with grapes sourced from both zones of the Anderson Valley. The “Deep End” is the foggy, perpetually wet Western side closest to the ocean, while the vineyards near the town of Boonville enjoy a little more sun exposure. Sourcing from both zones gives “La Selva” great tension. All three of the vineyards are sheltered by old-growth redwoods, and their resinous influence creeps into the wine to provide a really captivating note of freshness.
Clones Pommard, 115, 667, and 777 are all included in this wine. The vines are grown in varying pockets of fractured rock, clay, and decomposed limestone for really deep minerality. Wild yeasts work their magic after a two-day cold soak. Every clone is fermented separately in open-top tanks, and fermentations generally last a few weeks before the wine is barreled for 10 months in 15% new French oak. “La Selva” was bottled without any fining or filtration.
The wine is a dusty garnet moving to pink on the rim—deep and textural even as you’re pouring it from the bottle. No need to spend time decanting, just pull the cork about 20 minutes before pouring into Burgundy stems and the aromatics will begin to rise right away: clean, rich, and surprisingly oceanic for a red. Brisk cherry skin is layered over black raspberry, potting soil, and juniper. It’s extraordinarily fresh and resinous—the farthest thing from syrupy or over-extracted. In fact, I’d guess most people would be hard-pressed to identify this savory, balanced Pinot as belonging in California. Every sip juxtaposes fruit with earth and acidity. The palate tastes like hibiscus tea and loganberries on the one hand, cedar shavings and spice box on the other. It creates really miraculous tension, and the wine becomes more silky and accessible as it comes closer to room temperature. Even once those fine, firm tannins have melted on your palate there’s a lingering note of fresh redwood that reminds you exactly why this wine is called “La Selva.”
If you close your eyes and open the windows, you might just trick yourself into believing you’re in the misty woods, just getting ready to roast some s’mores over a campfire as you savor the last drops of wine. That being said, the perk of having access to a kitchen (and maybe a little more time to cook than usual!) is creating something as decadent and delicate as the attached recipe for herb-crusted lamb cutlets with English pea and wild garlic purée. A “transporting” wine is just the ticket right now, and this is it!
