MEDATITIVE MACERATIONS 😶‍🌫️

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's September 3, 2026 newsletter

Hey,

It’s crazy how just a few weeks ago it felt like peak summer. Looking out of the warehouse windows now, it’s looking very autumnal: that depressing shade of London grey and constant drizzle. What a funny little country this is.

Just as the weather has turned, so has my taste. I’m officially retiring from rosé and have started taking my reds out of the fridge. But what is heavily in rotation atm is anything amber-hued. Macerated whites feel apt in September, as we cling to the last of the sun while cooler nights set in, their subtle structure bridging the gap to the bigger reds ahead. In typical fashion, I’ve done a little shopping to refresh the skinsy shelf.

Alice Bouvot and her ever-changing line-up is something I can drink in all its guises, from textured domaine whites to more playful négociant bottlings. I especially like how she handles Muscat, its often overt aromatics tamed into something salty but still with a signature tropical twang. Racy and refreshing, and earmarked for our next sunny evening. Priced very keenly for one of the darlin’ vignerons of the Jura.

In another light and wildly energetic style, the UK’s very own Sophie Evans latest Pinot Gris. She makes very little wine, like under 300 btls of each cuvee, and those who’ve tasted it know its quality. She’s been the only UK representative at La Dive for a couple of years running now, and if she’s good enough for the French, she’s good enough for me. Eric Texier described her Pinot at one La Dive as tasting like how Jura Pinot used to back in the 80s, lol. I can’t confirm, as I haven’t tasted anything that old, but I’ll take his word for it. Sadly, no new reds this release, but the Pinot Gris is here across two vintages. I buy as much as allows of Sophie’s wines, and watching them age is always a delight. I actually haven’t shouted about the latest drops as I selfishly don’t want to share one of my favourite growers with quantities so limited. They’re soulful and moving and really speak of one of the more personal farming projects I know. We have tiny amounts of Electric Field, Rotling and her negoce Pinot too. Nice interview here.

This too is a lighter maceration, bridging the gap between white and orange. Xarel-lo is one of those grapes really suited to time on its skin. Its bright acidity and core of salt balance out the added textural tannins nicely. Perky from an earlier picking, but ripeness isn’t an issue, hinting at something more golden and nutty if you go looking. The label is also really cute. The price too!

Shout out to its red sibling. Monastrell can be a bit of a brute, but here it’s softened by co-fermenting with Parellada. Violet in both colour and flavour, backed by lots of mulberry and blackberry. Nothing jammy despite the dark fruit, this a blouge of innate digestibility, and it’ll pair with quite literally anything.

If you wanna get out of your comfort zone, try this Serbian thing. One of those macerations that ticks all the boxes: marmalade-y but fresh fruit, a bit of tea-like spice, some savoury herbs. Just enough grip, nothing chewy. Well balanced and immensely drinkable. You will come for the curiosity, but stay for the complexity. It’s also sealed with a natural layer of clay from the vineyard, a nice touch tying everything back to the land. Bonus eco points for skipping foil, plastic, or wax capsules too.

Catherine Dumora is a producer we’ve never had on the shelves before. The wines haven’t made much of an appearance in the UK for a while, but she won’t be strangers to those in the natty know-how. This older ’21 release, though directly pressed, feels akin to something with a bit of maceration. Texture, sunkissed southern fruit, and a few years of bottle age have let things harmonise nicely. Rustic and charming.

Finally, while technically a maceration, this really drinks like a light red. I stopped by the Lissner estate nearly two years ago, and it still remains one of the most memorable vineyard visits. They follow an uncompromising, almost unheard-of approach in the vines: no ploughing, no mowing, essentially a radical form of Fukuoka-inspired farming. Things grow pretty much wild, and walking through the vineyard is practically impossible, the grasses too tall to even wade through. That competition keeps yields so low that many locals don’t understand why they bother. Most of the wine is snapped up by markets in the East, but a little makes its way here. When I visited, we tasted bottles that had been open for months, everything precise and stable despite weeks of oxygen exposure, all without sulphur. Incredible really. When the raw material is this good, very little else is required. The palate is kaleidoscopic: smoke, herbs, redcurrant, and rhubarb, before a very mineral finish. We love macerated Pinot Gris, so picking a favourite should be hard, but honestly, this has been best in class for quite some while.

Maybe I’m biased as it was paired with some lovely Flammekueche (Tarte flambée) after a stroll through some of the vineyards. Maybe not.. you tell me.

We’ve been busy as ever in the warehouse, but I’m finding time next week to get back to Dan’s and open bottles with a winemaker, just like the good old days!

So next Tuesday, the 8th of September, we’ll be joined on the Dalston Riviera by Jurgen Gouws of Intellego Wines for a rowdy evening of Chenin, Pinotage that doesn’t suck, and whatever else they grow over in SA. There’ll be free tasting samples of his finest wines, a generously priced BTG list, and bottles ready to go too. I’m also bringing over a few treats from the warehouse, some maturing zero-zero Chenin and the like. It’s the day after our staff party, so I’ll no doubt have a sore head. Please come by and help me get through it.

Kicking off at 6pm until Jurgen is sick of you all. Details here, but I can’t think of many better ways to spend a Tuesday evening.

Bisou
Fionn
xoxoxo