Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Lincourt's grapes are so rich and well grown that they don’t even need oak to make a delicious Chardonnay. The wine is dry and crisp, with appealing flavors of pineapples, tangerines and Meyer lemons. The savory creaminess seems to come from aging on the lees. What a great food wine.
Editors' Choice -
Wine Spectator
Fresh and lively, offering snappy citrus, green apple and subtle floral scents, this makes points with its vibrant acidity.
Exhibiting the casual graciousness of Santa Barbara County, Lincourt Vineyards was named after Bill and Carol Foley’s two daughters – Lindsay and Courtney and marked the beginning of the Foley Family of wines. Founded in 1996, Lincourt produces boutique, ultra-premium estate wines from the acclaimed Sta. Rita Hills AVA. Handcrafted, small-lot bottling showcases the character of each vineyard site and bear the names of the women who influenced and shaped Bill’s life including his wife, mother, grandmother and aunt. The quaint 1926 Sears Craftsman Kit home serves as Lincourt’s charming tasting room and hospitality space.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.