YES YANN! NEW DURRMANN DROP🎯

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's September 15, 2026 newsletter

Hey,

A bit of housekeeping first. I'm currently on a work trip in Italy, well, on a Ryanair flight, but close enough. For the first time in ages, I'll be in the vineyards of this great nation. It’s *such* hard work trying to find you the best bottles. The salumi and excellent EVOO are just a perk of the job, but someones gotta do it.

That does mean that for today only we're not dispatching any orders. We’ll be back to normal tomorrow. Apologies!

Anything ordered yesterday after cut-off or today will be processed first thing tomorrow for delivery on Thursday. We're still a tiny team, so I hope you don't mind me escaping London for some much-needed time away from all the cardboard boxes.

OK, boring bits out of the way, let's welcome in some lovely, well-made, well-priced wines perfect for the mid-month lull. I've brought these wines in every wine job I've had; always popular, and judging by the dent in the shelves at Dan's last week, still are. Talking of Durrmann.

Yann has run his domaine since 2018, continuing his family's trailblazing work. They had already long-established no-till practices, agroforestry, and indigenous fermentations, all while going well above and beyond organics. He's gone further still, into fully natural winemaking. So unfiltered, zero-sulphur bottling across the board.

Yann is incredibly dedicated to expressing the myriad and unique terroirs across his 30, yes 30, small parcels. As such, he makes a lot of wine, more than most, even for Alsace. Sadly, the shelves aren't large enough to take them all in, but we've cherry picked our favourites and this is the most we've ever had, covering our favourites from his eye-watering range. The house style is slightly cloudy and very crushable. He employs short skin soaks to keep ferments fresh and healthy, rather than for colour. Things then mainly see steel to keep things pure, bottled young, as the bottle itself his ageing vessel of choice. Simple winemaking but the wines are anything but.

Starting with a pair of litres. This is essentially, an Edelzwicker, which is one of my fav words in wine. Fun to say, more fun to drink. A big, bright blend mixing aromatic varieties with the region's more mineral grapes. The little spritz only enhances drinkability. The blouge is equally as bright. A fifty-fifty infusion of Pinot Noir and Gris, it's a little smokey and comes with lots of crunchy red fruit. Chiller!

The ever-reliable Krax is back for a new vintage. Riesling in its wildest form after a fair time on its skin, all quince-like with funky tropical stuff and savoury herb. Signature Riesling acid lines freshen it up nicely.

Sylvaner is so underrated, and few do it better than Yann. Lots of lemon and lime, then maybe some anise-adjacent herbal bits if you go looking. A couple of the Lilt like Zegwurs, remember that iconic soft drink? It tasted like this.

A handful of Riesling in too, which is where he really excels. A new plot of 12-year-old vines on calcaire, that is so pure and crispy. Citrus and lots of lovely mineral things in that classic steely profile. In a word, hydrating. Would be unreal with anything spicy or fatty. I prefer to cook at home, but this could convince me to take-out.

Stepping up a notch, a couple of Grand Crus. Alsace and GC isn't the surefire winner it is elsewhere across France. There's lots of them and quality is variable. Thankfully, Yann makes GCs that actually taste grand. This from '21 is a steal, its razor-sharp acid lines softening but still strikingly present. Its finish is seemingly endless, lime pith bitters woven throughout, perfect with the local, pork-heavy Alsatian produce. Kastelbari is another GC but it goes a more smoky and saline route. The finish is equally long and haunting. It has the presence on the palate that make’s is a cut above most of what Alsace is putting out atm.

Everything he touches is energetic and vibrant from the entry-level blends right through to the more serious single site expression’s. A curious, and creative vigneron who makes bottles that adorn bistros all over France and the world over. Now they can adorn your wine racks and fridges too.

Anyway, G2G do some boots on the ground work here in Italy. I’ll report back soon.

Bisou
Fionn
xoxo