Livia: When the Winemaker’s Hand Meets the Artist’s Eye

Livia the first Release

We often say wine is bottled poetry. For me, as a winemaker, wine is a sculpture. It means chipping away the excess to reveal the terroir's essence. This is the vision I shared with artist Anthony Duchêne as we walked the slopes of Samos together.

The Concept: Stripping the Green 

In our previous conversations, Anthony visualised the concept of "Sous le Végétal" (Beneath the Plants). He drew the moon, craters, and bare rock to represent Samos. Why? Because he saw what I was trying to taste. He understood my goal was not to make a "fruity" wine, but to strip away the vegetation and expose the island's mineral skeleton.

The Birth of Livia.

Livia is the first liquid proof of this philosophy. As the winemaker, I selected grapes from a vineyard at 400 meters, rooted deep in schist soil. My intention was to create a Muscat that defies the "sweet" stereotype of Samos. I vinified Livia to be razor-sharp, bone-dry, and unapologetically mineral. It is a wine that first smells of crushed rocks, then of flowers.

The Name & The Legacy.

 Named after Livia Drusilla, wife of Emperor Augustus and the first Empress of Rome, this wine carries feminine power with an iron will. Like Anthony’s label, which depicts the raw lunar surface of our soil, Livia is the taste of Samos without makeup. It is the result of my hands listening to the land and Anthony’s eyes seeing the invisible.