An Algerian from the Berber region of Kabylia in the Tell Atlas mountains, Houas Boukella moved to the Anjou in 2019, and shortly thereafter encountered the wines of Patrick Desplats. Touched by what he felt in Desplats’ wines, Boukella sought out Patrick and after becoming friends with him, was soon working chez Desplats as mentee. Utilizing the methodologies of Pat’s post 2018 winemaking, most of Boukella’s macerations and elévage take place in buried amphorae at the farm of his wife, and directly next to their vegetable garden. My first impression of Houas’ wines were that while complex, they were much more livelier and fresh right out of the bottle than Desplats’ recent cuvées, which I sense are in more of a slumber state at the moment, but will awaken with force in a few years. Regardless, Boukella’s first official vintage is a complex and delicious affair, and something special to behold; soon to be treasures in any serious drinker’s cellar.
Also recently in from the Anjou are multiple vintages from Jean-Baptiste Peltier, a former cop and now cohort of Desplats and Boukella, whose own wines, while perhaps not as high on the heady spectrum of those two, are ridiculously easy to drink potions that have a certain type of nostalgia that only Cabernet from the Loire seem to be able to bring about.
Other notable arrivals include some rare and sensuous bottles from the elusive Patrick Corbineau in the Touraine, as well as a couple of stunning Champagnes made of Pinot Meunier from the micro domaine La Parcelle.