LIBRARY STOCK 📚 (DIGGIN’ IN THE CELLAR x)

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's May 28, 2026 newsletter

Hello wine people,

Another week of excellent wine tasted so that you get to drink well. This week we look at bottles pulled from the reserves, all with at least five years behind them. Wine is singular in that it's one of the few tangible ways of peering back in time. Five years is a decent stretch. Just think how much you've changed in that time. These wines too. All positively purring after their little slumber. Glowed up and about as good as booze gets. Sadly, just tiny amounts, so you'll need to be fast.

Vinas Mora is a new discovery I'm currently obsessed with. I went to a tasting recently where everything was at least five years old. The Burgundy and Jura was good, but these Croatian bottles stood out the most.

Babić is a new one for me. Inherently high acid, and whilst traditionally used to make heavier wines, the team at Vinas Mora want to showcase the grape at its lightest and brightest. Dark berry territory, but the wild ones, the ones you'd pick when barely ripe. Crunchy and a bit Pinot-like with a tea-like spice. Mellowed out beautifully now and in a very nice place. Take a punt. You won't be disappointed. A light chill might be nice for this effortless and breezy bottle.

A little more extraction here but still acid-driven, aromatic, and refreshing. More minerality and spice too. No bad thing. If you like cru Beaujolais with a bit of bottle age, and who doesn't, then you'll be very, very happy with this. A steal considering the quality.

Same tasting, this bottle appeared. I also had one recently off the shelves at a local spot with a very good selection so can doubly confirm it slaps. Shy at first, give it time and you'll have Eastern Europe rivalling top top Jura. Words can't really explain how good this is. Just trust me. Probably the best Neuburger out there. Tingly minerals, a golden oxidative kiss, citric fruit for days.

Speaking of top Jura, Valentin Morel is stupidly talented. I genuinely don't know why people in this country haven't fully embraced the hype train that is feverish in the States and across Europe. Some of the finest wines from the whole region. Let's do some blinds. You bring your unicorns, I'll bring these, and we'll see who comes out on top. I back myself. Tiny amounts left from our allocation.

This 2020 in particular has had a long rest now in bottle after an equally long elevage. It’s my pick of the bunch. A winemaker once told me that, however long a wine has been raised in barrel before release offers a good idea of how much bottle time it needs to hit a youthful peak. Purely anecdotal, whether there's any science behind it is not for me to say. Like the best things in wine, sometimes you just have to taste it to believe it.

More older treats. Thibaud Boudignon with age? Go on. Widely considered Loire white at its pinnacle. Michelin 3*** pours. Savennières 'Clos de la Hutte'! Le Clos de Frémine! Baby Anjou! These will last forever in bottle, but not forever on the shelves. Grab them whilst you can.

Another Loire belter and arguably one of life's greatest Cab Francs at a very fair price considering the quality and age on show. 2018 Marsaules in the prime of it’s life. Seriously not sure best in class wine should not be this cheap. It feels wrong. I’d happily pay over £100. If I saw this in France for this price, I’d be buying the whole case without blinking. I had the pleasure of visiting last year, seeing the cooling troglodyte cave where patient ageing takes place was a top, top, top wine experience. Bel Air might be the last of the OG vignernons. An icon. Not only a master of fine wine, Jour de Soif is also one of the better things you can pull from the ice bucket at this price. Love the label too.

Also, did you not hear? J and I will be popping corks on some library stock from one of our favourite producers. Testalonga. Craig and Carla make some of the best zero-zero Chenin I've ever tasted. We'll wet your whistle with a glass of young fizz on arrival before uncorking skin contact stuff from 2012, 2015, and 2019 alongside the current release. Cortez 2014, the best ever vintage followed by Cortez 2019 and the current release. One very special vertical. Snacks, great chat, and very good vibes.

There is very little of this wine in existence. We have just a bottle or two. A unique, once-in-a-lifetime chance to taste wines dating back over a decade, at a very fair price too. The last handful of tickets are online. Go.

G2G cool off all this old wine chat has got me sweatin’.

Bisou
Fionn
xoxo