Lioco "Fondo" Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Aromas of wild blackberry, preserved cherries and gravel. Flavors of Santa Rosa plum, black currant, bay leaf.

This is Lioco's first-ever Cabernet Sauvignon, named Fondo, meaning "lowest part" or "bottom" in Spanish, and refering to the two parcels at the lowest part of the Sonoma Valley that compose this wine. Clone 337, from the historic Bedrock Vineyard (38%), planted 2004 with "old-school" California sprawl on alluvial soils of loam, clay & volcanic ash. Clone 8 is dry-farmed on the proximate Monte Rosso Vineyard (62%), planted 2004 on red, iron-rich clay soils. This blend from two legendary growers showcases the refined Cabernet this AVA is known for.

The opportunity to access some legitimate Grand Cru quality Cabernet Sauvignon grapes at Monte Rosso Vineyard is what pushed Lioco into the world of red Bordeaux varieties. That, coupled with an open door at the historic Bedrock Vineyard on the valley floor below, where the vineyard owners had just wrapped the final year on a 30-year grape contract with Mondavi (long a source for that legendary estate's Reserve Cabernet). The stars had finally aligned for LIOCO to attempt a Cabernet Sauvignon inspired by those from another era -- the 1970s California Cabs with low ABV, little to no new oak, and plenty of savory Bordeaux-like complexity. The micro, drought-concentrated 2021 vintage produced a wine of great force and power, that once opened, gulps down air, drinks well on Day 2, and should provide for decades of cellaring potential.

Based in Santa Rosa, Lioco is a welcoming winery that infuses that need for subtle quality in everything they do. Practicing organic, dry farmed, 20-year-old vines, hand-harvested, hand-sorted and destemmed, native yeast fermentation, aged 18 months in mostly used French oak barrels and bottled unfined & unfiltered.