They’re here! (Poltergeist)

To whet your thirst, the following newbies are on order now, nestled in LCB and awaiting your surprise and delight:

Beulah Violetta, Umbria

Beulah, peel me a grape (Mae West, I’m No Angel)

Beulah Violetta may sound like a character from Gone With The Wind, but in (wine) reality is a biodynamic farm and vineyard established in early 2022 by Annie Conley, chef and food/travel writer, and James Hird, an award-winning sommelier and one of the co-founders of Rootstock, the legendary natural wine in Sydney. After years of searching across Europe (including Beaujolais, Tuscany, and Piedmont) they found their ideal site near the hilltop town of Todi in Umbria, drawn by its elevation, soils, and wild, untouched surroundings. Named after their grandmothers (Beulah and Violet), the property now has 10.5 hectares under vine, planted with Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, Trebbiano, Trebbiano Spoletino, and Merlot, with Sagrantino replanted to Ciliegiolo in 2025.

The vineyards, facing east and north east, sit at 450 to 550 metres above sea level, mainly on clay soils with some limestone. The elevation, natural cooling, and steady winds help keep the vines healthy and reduce the risk of disease.

The older vines are dry-farmed, and while irrigation exists for new plantings, it has never been used thanks to the site’s moisture-retentive soils and use of cover crops. Yields typically range from 3 to 5 tonnes of fruit per hectare. Around 4.3 hectares were in production in 2023, increasing annually with no further plantings planned. The farm also produces wheat for pasta, olives for oil, and is home to 15 chickens and 15 beehives. Since its purchase, the entire property has been in conversion to biodynamic viticulture, with a commitment to low-intervention, regenerative farming that reflects the unique microclimate and character of the site.

The blend of the Stesso Stesso is 60% Sangiovese, 30% Merlot, 10% Sagrantino. Grapes are harvested by hand and whole bunches undergo a three-day carbonic maceration, are pressed into stainless tanks, co-fermented, and further matured for 6 months before bottling without filtration, fining and less than 20 ppm of sulphites added.

Stesso Stesso, meaning “same same,” reflects the consistent philosophy behind the wine’s production: minimal intervention, handpicked fruit, and a focus on expressing the unique vineyard site. It’s a playful nod to doing things the same way across vintages while still learning and evolving with the land.

Light and ethereal red with freshness at the fore with some Italian rustic sanguineness too with wild bramble fruit, wild herbs, baking spice lurking in the depths. Think Italian Beaujolais still in touch with its wilder side. A heartfelt red from the heart of Italy.

2023 Stesso Stesso

Ansitz Dornach, Alto-Adige

Re-habbing A-A, or new beauties in Süd-Tirol

Once upon a time, o best beloved, we cornered the market in Alto-Adige. If there was a legend, we snaffled it. Our list was littered with great names: Georg Ramoser, Tenuta Falkenstein, Peter Pliger, Bruno Gottardi, Castel Juval, Köfererhof, Cantina Valle Isarco, amongst others. Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair.

And then there were none. How the Dolo-mighty had fallen.

Now, having screwed our courage to the sticking point, we are back with Ansitz Dornach.

In 1836 Anton von Gelmini zu Kreuzhof purchased Dornach. It was his son Max, afterwards who moulded the estate into its current shape with single terraced vineyards parted by dry walls.

Over 170 years later, Patrich Uccelli took over the small plots of land in Dornach from his mother, began overseeing the vineyards, leaning into biodynamics and becoming one of the first members of Alois Lageder’s co-operative. He has been bottling his own wines following his notion of “sustainable” wines for around ten years, creating a farm that is as self-sufficient as possible. The location above the village of Salorno, a particularly cool and windy area at the bottom of Alto Adige, favours slow and balanced maturation for the grapes. Meanwhile, everything in the winery is done with as little intervention as possible in order to keep the wines as lifted and drinkable as possible.

The true embodiment of living in harmony with nature can be found at Dornach. The ideals of biodynamics are beautifully rendered here where grapes, other fruits, vegetables, grains, bees and livestock all exist harmoniously creating a closed ecosystem with amazing biodiversity. Patrick is accompanied in this endeavour by his wife, Karoline, and their two children.

The wines burst with varietal and regional character, pure expressions of site and personality.

Louis Pinot Grigio is a macerated white wine from a very mineral area at 400 meters above sea level, rich in porphyry, an extrusive volcanic rock (also known as rhyolite). Harvest is manual with spontaneous fermentation in steel from indigenous yeasts and whole bunch maceration for a few days. Ageing takes place in cement and lasts a few months before bottling. The nose recalls summer fruits, yellow peach and apricot, flowers and acacia honey, and after a few minutes vegetal notes tending towards balsamic and oriental spices emerge. In the mouth the wine is full and enveloping, with light yet velvety tannins.

Pinot Blanc/Bianco needs complex soils, perfect sun exposure and a good breeze. Dornach, sitting at an elevation of 350 metres, is perfectly positioned to grow world class Pinot Blanc, and the farm’s embrace of the natural world and deft touch in the cellar creates a wine with intense, crystalline personality and passion. This cuvee blends Chardonnay (40%) for lovely added texture and complexity.

The Traminer Aromatico is fermented and aged in large acacia barrels. Its multifaceted nose leans decisively toward oriental spices, cloves, and even nutmeg, followed by tropical fruit and hints of acacia, interspersed with flowers and honey. On the palate, it is light and drinkable, dry, and dynamic.

A stunner, Dornach’s alpine Pinot Noir exudes pleasure and personality. The grapes come from a vineyard located at 400-metres above sea level. The harvest is manual; the spontaneous fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts with maceration for a few days and ageing occurs for a few months in large barrels. Elegant and lovely with notes of strawberries, rhubarb and summer berries. Not unserious, but so so drinkable. 

2023 Louis Bianco Pinot Blanc/Chardonnay 

2023 Louis Aromatico Gewurztraminer 

2023 Louis Macerato Pinot Grigio 

2022 Louis Rosso Pinot Noir 

Distillerie Cazottes, Southwest France

The sweet taste of bitterness

Vermouth has as many recipes as there are Italian families. Worse, it has made its mark on the Iberian Peninsula, where each “vermuteria” has its own. What were we going to enter into the competition, from the depths of the Tarn?

But yes! This bitter vermouth from none other than Laurent Cazottes is designed to be “bitter”, because it has to quench thirst, make one salivate, and reach for the bottle again. Gone is the sugar that cloys and clogs the palate: only 35g remains, for a “dry” impression and to enhance the strong aromatic. The bartender in one  will cry Martini, Manhattan, Rob Roy, Negroni! The vermouth is a true cocktail creature, but is of course perfectly enjoyed straight, on ice, with a dash of lemon zest thrown in, faux neglect oblige. 

This fortified wine incorporates Aubrac gentian roots, cinchona, cinnamon and liquorice bark, savoury flowers, caraway seeds, sage, tonka beans… the result is a little bomb of aromatic bitterness (cue The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony)!

The nose opens to the Orient, between ginger, camphor, and eucalyptus. Then we enter the old shaman’s office, we run across the moors, we smell the blond leather of the horse’s saddle, the fragrant tobacco, the wax and the heather honey. A stick of liquorice, a sloe picked at the edge of the fields, the chiffchaff crushed under the hoof, the smoke of the cade bush that fades after having warmed us…

A journey, yes, but also a skill: 24 months of ageing in old barrels, outdoors, subject to the vagaries of the weather. Then summer & autumn in a glass (or two).

NV Bitter Vermouth

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Interested in finding out more about the wines mentioned? Contact us directly:

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