From the Importer:

5 years after the domaine was founded in 1986, frost ravaged the Jura and took with it close to all of the harvest of 1991. From the rubble came an opportunity for Raphael Fumey to turn what little was left into the first wines under his own label.

Some years later, the purchase of a ruinous farmhouse in Montigny-les-arsures, which would later become the cellar and family estate solidified the Domaine Fumey Chatelain as a bona-fide producer in Jura, specifically in the appellation of Arbois, with some vineyards also in neighbouring Montigny.

Today, the wines are made by second generation Marin, with Raphael tending to the family’s 15ha under vine. Marin studied in Davaye, Burgundy before working in Australia for Spinifex, Burn Cottage in New Zealand and Crystallum in SA. His tuition at these boundary-pushing estates led to a change in the winemaking style at his family estate, introducing wild fermentation, whole bunch maceration and no fining or filtration The vineyards are managed biodynamically, with organic certification coming soon for most of the sites.

The subsequent wines are brought to us in very limited quantities. We consider ourselves lucky to have secured such a small allocation on the back of two challenging vintages punctuated with adverse weather conditions.

The Fumey Chatelain wines continue to astonish us with their verve and crystalline quality. Stylistically they are millennia away from the oxidative Jura wines of yore and present a more elegant, terroir focussed take on this amazing region. Just when we thought we’re well acquainted with them, we discover new reasons to marvel, and the new releases are quite the splendid display.

Since taking on the winemaking duties, Marin’s opened Fumey Chatelain up to the world. Prior to making their eponymous wines, Marin’s parents sold their fruit to negociants. In the Spring of 1991, the terrible frost left them with a crop too small to sell, yet beautiful enough to vinify themselves. And so, their first wines were created. After a few years making the wines here and there, borrowing barrels and space from other family vignerons, Raphaël and Adeline found an old farm in Montigny-lès-Arsures, where they established their winery, and the rest is history.

As for many of our growers, Marin’s efforts to convert the vineyards to complete organic viticulture have paid off. During his stint making wine in the New World, at Spinifex (Barossa), Crystallum (SA) and Burn Cottage (Central Otago) Marin gained a fresh understanding on how to express terroir, which he brought home with him and we’re witnessing through his pristine wines.