Ugo Lestelle - L 2020 VDF

In his teens Ugo, born in Lyon, was kind of a rebel. His father sent him to boarding school where Ugo became friends with Keke Descombes. From 13 years old he worked at George Descombes, one of the founding fathers of the natural wine movement.

After school he worked some more for Descombes and then moved to natural wine’s godfather: Marcel Lapierre. When he wanted to venture on his own he had one problem: he couldn’t afford any vineyards in Beaujolais. So he bought the cheapest vineyards he could find: old vines of Grenache in Saint-Chinian, Languedoc.

This ‘L’ was made exactly according to the winemaking of Lapierre, but with Grenache from 400m high vineyards. Think of Morgon with more minerality and raspy tannins. A fantastic story, a fantastic wine; they do go hand in hand.