When you imagine the taste of California Chardonnay, you probably aren’t thinking of this wine from Lioco. First off, Lioco’s Chardonnay is not aged in new oak, but in stainless steel and neutral oak barrels, where it does not pickup Chardonnay’s characteristic buttery and oaky flavors. Secondly, the Chardonnay grapes in this wine are grown in the cool climate, mineral rich vineyards of the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast where the grapes generate more acidity than jammy fruit flavors found in Chardonnay from warmer climates. Compared more to the Chablis’ of Burgundy than the Chardonnay’s of Napa, this is a New World wine made in an Old World style, with pronounced pome fruit flavors, fresh acidity, and minerality