NEW JURA PRODUCER? 🥹

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's November 10, 2026 newsletter

Hey,

Currently sitting outside a boulangerie in Paris after a whirlwind trip. Extremely dark roasted coffee and a croissant twice as good as any London bakery at half the price. Life’s good. It makes a pleasant change from scribbling down my thoughts on the grey commute to Bethnal Green, and a good place to reflect on last week's arrivals.

First in is a new producer I've been keeping tabs on for a while. I stumbled into a visit at Maison les Grand Pas a few years ago in the sleepy, beautiful town of St Lothain, and I hoped and prayed they'd finally get a UK import.

Romain Lawson and Arianne Stern are a couple who swapped Parisian life for bucolic Jura. Romain studied oenology before stints with Manu Houillon and Nicolas Jacob. Arianne studied baking and farming, her first loaves baked in Pierre Overnoy's legendary wood-fired oven. She is now one of the most sought-after bakers in the region, supplying the best local restaurants including Auberge de Bellevie and Claquets. I can confirm, the bread slaps and the wine ain't half bad either.

In 2024 they officially took over from Ludwig Bindernagel of Lulu Vigneron, working a final vintage alongside him to get to know the land. In the cellar, they have a very deft touch. As with the best Jurassien reds, things are only lightly extracted and meant to be drunk young and with vigour. The whites see a minimum of two years of élevage, for more serious and gastronomic wines. Sulphur is used sparingly. They'd prefer to abstain entirely, but as new upstart vignerons they aren't dogmatic, and if a splash is needed at bottling for stability, so be it. That said, I'm certain this first release has none at all.

Their first harvest suffered as many did in 2024, so they bought in small amounts of grapes from trusted growers. I tasted most of these from barrel and tank and they were pristine. Painfully light and ethereal, and some of the most captivating and uplifting wines of a whirlwind trip drinking only the very best.

We've got Gamay from Beaujolais, vinified and aged chez Nicolas Jacob. Ripest of the range, it's brambly with granitic bite, yet still so easy. The Pineau d'Aunis is from the Vendômois, the same source as the Allante & Boulanger guys. It's featherweight and floral. The best for last is two-thirds Gamay from Raphaël of Saint-Cyr in the Beaujolais, which gets another short and sweet 15-day whole-bunch maceration, blended with all they got of their whites. That's mainly Chardonnay with a 5% splash of Savagnin from 45-year-old vines at Au Couvent, both on heavy marls. I vividly remember trying this young and it's stayed with me ever since. On retasting, things have only harmonised further. A smoky blouge of the utmost fluidity.

More Jura? Go on then. A large resupply from Tissot. Patchwork should act as the litmus test for any regional Chardonnay. Rose Massale is for the heads, the aromatic clone in the hands of the master. Mailloche is a majestic wine of serious power and weight. There's a Chardonnay from my favourite parcel, En Barberon, too. Plus some reds, plenty of Macvin and a bit of Yellow wine! Go nutz.

Dolomies 2023s have also been stocked up. Céline and Steve Gormally worked alongside the region's heavyweights Labet, Badoz and St-Pierre, and the estate's name comes from the magnesium-limestone (dolomite) soils that define their terroir. They farm roughly 5.5 to 6 hectares of old vines, biodynamically, across some seriously prized lieux-dits. True paysan vignerons, they prioritise farming and soil health, and use a horse to plough the rows. The cellar work is inspired by their time at the Labets. The wines are so underrated, wild and energetic! Idk why people don't go feral for these. More for me, I guess...

A bit of the IYKYK Crémant from Marnes Blanches. If you like vinous fizz but not the usual price point, give this a go. Les Molates, both Chardo and Sav, are great intros to their style. Plus the rest of the range is always reliably tasty.

A tiny top-up from Allante & Boulanger for the lols. Just 3 of their Phantome cuvée from the esteemed plot of Varrons.

Outside of the Jura? De Moor has had a restock, including the rarer than rare 1902 Aligoté. Some cellared stock of Lajibe for the fun of it too. Montevertine are singing at the moment, and we got a tiny allocation, so they won't last long.

Finally, a very rare bottling from Testalonga. 300 bottles total, only 36 in the UK, and 1/6th of those is currently staring me in the face. A unicorn Colombard from South Africa. The best tank from 2023 was given the ancestral treatment, and 33 months on the lees builds some serious savoury, autolytic joy that offsets its off-dry nature nicely.

Silly season is upon us.

Speak soon,
Fionn
xoxo