2019 LIOCO Indica Red Table Wine Mendocino County 750 ml

If you consider yourself a lover of California red wine but only drink Cabernet, Pinot, and Zinfandel, you’re missing out on some of the best wines—and best values—in the Golden State.

Case in point: LIOCO’s 2019 Indica Red from Mendocino County. Sourced from the extreme McCutchen Vineyard—which proprietor Matt Licklider calls “the DRC of Carignan sites”—it’s the kind of delicious and character-rich red wine that shows California at its unique best.

We’re not the only ones who feel that way. The Carignan-based blend has been a staple at SF restaurants like Nopa and State Bird Provisions, and at NYC’s The Dutch.

Matt likens Indica to lighter Gigondas, but we’ll go well beyond that: We think it ought to be on the table of anyone who digs the wines of the Rhône, top Barbera from Italy, or richer iterations of Pinot Noir. With aromas of red plums, cherries, and tobacco, and a vibrant, red-fruited palate, it’s easy to love, contemplatively complex—and a total steal.

“When we started making this wine, no one cared enough about Carignan to talk about the vineyards, or even name the variety,” he said about this blend of 93% Carignan and 7% Valdiguié, a Gamay-like California heirloom grape. 

Indica comes from three organically farmed sites—the youngest of which is 60 years old—including the McCutchen Vineyard that inspired Matt to invoke DRC’s sacred terroir. Planted at extreme elevation (between 2200 and 2400 feet) above an abandoned rock quarry, it’s as challenging a site as you can find to grow grapes, and it gives fruit of phenomenal character and quality.

From great grapes comes a great wine—one of our faves in the Golden State.