SERIOUS STYRIAN SELECTION🏅 (TSCHEPPE + WERLITSCH x)

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's June 23, 2026 newsletter

Hey,

Before I get into the wine chat. A little boring info about shipping this week. It’s really hot atm and it looks like it will be for the next few days. We’re leaning on the side of caution and we’ll be holding onto orders of the more fragile and premium wines until it cools down. I’ll be in touch to confirm exact delivery dates with you all.

If you need your wines pronto, we can ship as normal. Please just leave a note at checkout! Full delivery details here.

IMO, it’s better to wait a few extra days than to risk cooking something really nice. Hope you understand.

Ok, now onto the wines with a very special email today. Bottles from a region near and dear to my heart. Styria! A couple of years ago I spent the day cutting about in these vineyards, and I'm yet to find somewhere with such palpable energy as these hills.

We welcome two small allocations from the region's elite. First up, tiny, and I mean tiny, amounts from Andreas and Elisabeth Tscheppe. 2024 was not the most generous vintage, and when working as uncompromisingly as they do, yields can be painfully low. Thankfully, quality is as high as ever.

Blue Dragonfly is slightly more floral, always the most elegant and aromatically charming. Green Dragonfly feels more herbal, denser, but still with that unmistakable reduction keeping things brisk. A crown-capped edition too, bottled with a touch of residual from a long ferment that never quite finished. Still in its youth but this usually resolves with some cellar time. A touch of RS never hurt anyone btw.

Then it's just one each of the following. Segelfalter is the classiest Muskat on the market. Schwalbenschwanz sees even more maceration, extra floral and phenolic. Stag Beetle is an amber delight. Northern Italian in feel, heady and intense but utterly moreish.

You also can also take a look into the wonderful world of Werlitsch! We’re keeping things in the family with Andreas' brother Ewald, and his partner Brigitte. At the top of their famed Ex Vero hillside sits one side of the family, and right at the bottom of the stupidly steep slope is Werlitsch HQ. We have a little more (less than a case of each though) to play with here and the supply never lasts long. The view from up the top is staggering btw…

Ex Vero II and III across two vintages. Pretty much Grand Cru terrirtory for Styria. Polar opposite years, so a real chance for some serious wine geekery. The 2023s show youthful and balanced atm. Classic regional reduction married with weight and texture from the chalky marl Opok soil. II sits mid-slope with a larger splash of Chardonnay. Things are a little rounder here. III is the top of the hill, the steepest, where Sauvignon dominates, and the vines root deep into pure hard limestone as such the most cutting and vertical. A heavyweight and breathtaking in its beauty. This is my desert island drink of choice. You should get one of each though.

The 2022s spent significantly longer on their lees, ferments slowly going the distance. Bottled with a small amount of residual, similar to Andreas's Plus range. Texture and density, but any detectable sweetness is balanced impeccably by soaring acidity. They thrive on the table and allow serious fun with adventurous pairings. Mid Slope and Top Slope. The extra year in bottle has done wonders. I’m literally salivating at the thought of these.

The supplier also kindly opened up their cellar to a little back vintage of Morillion 2021. A blend of sites and a true snapshot of what the region's Chardo looks like. With some bottle age now, this is primed and raring to go. Still with that reductive power, it is now fleshing out into crushed rock, spice and beautiful citrus fruit. A lean and mean vintage, just how I like it.

Want to see more Styria? We have a pair from the baby-faced assassin Elias knocking around. Not to be slept on, some of the most delicious wines we stock. The son of legendary winemakers, working from their steepest plot with long elevages, and zero adds. Mineral and mouthwatering.

Konig too. Definitely overlooked and underappreciated. Zero sulphur again, aged two to three years in old oak foudres and amphora, stupidly steep vineyards as per the region’s best. The Weissburgunder is so tingly and fresh. Sauvignon that is more steely than fruity. Another magical Morillion that will live long in the mind.

Styria is the place you need to be. Trust me. It’s my favourite white wine reigon, and I think I’ve got half decent taste.

Ok, wine chat done. Stay cool out there, drink plenty of water/wine/etc.

Bisou

Fionn
xoxo