ANOTHER ANJOU ALLOCATION 🤩 (Poïèsis + Bretèches + Basti)

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's June 9, 2026 newsletter

Hey,

It's a tough time to be a shelf in the warehouse right now. Tough time to be my back too. Deliveries are coming thick and fast. Lots of ground to cover. More to come.

Anyway, this week has been a good one for fans of Chenin Blanc. We've received our yearly tranche of high-grade mineral wine from Olivier Lejeune. Those with good taste should be no stranger to this man's fine work, but in case you're new: Olivier had a notable innings at Felton Road in NZ before heading home to the Loire, where he worked alongside Mark Angeli. Mark was then instrumental in setting him up on the now-famed black schist soils of Montbenault.

Poïèsis meaning 'bringing something into being that did not exist before'. Olivier saved this plot from the brink. 2023 was a cooler, wetter year but he's managed to find plenty of tropical ripeness alongside those hallmark beeswax and lanolin notes. There's real cut and thrust here, with a wickedly long, salivating vein of acid keeping you coming back for more. This is very much a cult bottle now, and it usually sells out fast.

Even more elusive is the extended elevage version. 2022 being a warmer year, it has really benefited from that extra time in barrel. Any baby fat has been thoroughly shed to reveal an unrivalled, mineral and taut bottling. After a single Instagram story there is just one left… Go.

In more readily available supply, Whaka Piripiri is the wine you can most certainly tuck into in the short term. Always sees just steel, so it's rasping and razor sharp. Pure-fruited and precise. People tend to sleep on this but that's their loss as if you're impatient like me, this is the one that is the most gratifying in the short term.

Staying in Montbenault, we also welcome back Clos des Bretèches. Our initial three-bottle allocation went within the hour. Don't ask what I had to do to get more, just be thankful you now have another chance.

The pair behind this project also spent time with the famed Angelis at Ferme de la Sansonnière. Farming is exceptional, with particular care given to each vine. Everything is done by hand, with horses favoured over tractors to prevent soil compaction, and pruning follows the painstaking Angeli method of braiding.

Vinification is hands-off yet attentive and intentional. A small percentage of well-integrated barrel, mostly old with some new. The same wines see the same barrels each year, honing in that terroir imprint. The house style is modern and reductive, with complexity built through time on fine lees and patience rather than sweetness, recipe winemaking or lashings of wood. Essentially, everything I want my Anjou Chenin to be.

The flagship bottle, the one that put their name on the map. 2024 was a wet vintage that threw up a mixed bag depending on the producer, but here it is cutting, fresh and a fine example of how great growers manipulate tricky vintages into their own style. A showstopper, and very much the grape at its pinnacle. Pélioches is their most rich and gourmand wine, extra inviting in this vintage. Heady and complex, this is one built for the ages. Six each this time round. Won't be here forever.

It's allocation-heavy this week, but we've also just received a small top-up from Bastian Wolber. We have a case of Gamay, and it's a nice look into how he treats reds. The Bizot influence is telling. All whole bunch and ethereal. We'll hopefully receive tiny amounts of the Pinot later down the line too. Worth getting on our VIP list for…

Basti is known for the reds, almost too well known. I caught the infamous wine 'critic' James Suckling posting about him on my morning scroll whilst stuck on the overground. LOL. Fair to say the hype has transcended the niche circles and gone fully mainstream now. Never great for stock levels or pricing, but a sign of a skilled hand that these appeal to tired, traditionalist palates and those who like things more youthful and vibrant alike.

Anyway, Basti really excels with his whites too. There's always a long elevage, here 24 months, and despite being just Bourgogne Blanc, the fruit is a stone's throw from Puligny-Montrachet. Starts all flinty before fleshing out into a full-fruited and floral number. Not cheap, but as with very good Burgundy, well worth it. Also, much cheaper than you’ll find listed at a certain Mayfair merchant beginning with H. We try our best to keep things as fair as possible. Just ‘cos we love wine, and we love you.

Top shelf heavy this week, but fear not: Thursday's mailer will be a deep dive into a new direct import that is priced to pour. There will also be a handful of new wines under £20 dropping too. Balance.

Speak soon,
Fionn
xoxox