Fumey-Chatelain Arbois Vin Jaune 2016

winemaking

20-70 jaar oude Savagnin-wijnstokken op grijze mergelgronden in lieu-dits ‘Au Barbi’, ‘Sauvagny’ en ‘La Vasé’. Directe persing van de druiven, natuurlijke gisting in cuve, 7 jaar oxidatieve rijping ‘sous voile’ op eikenhouten vaten.

Domaine Fumey-Chatelain

Yes, eindelijk Jura bij Chabrol! En wat voor Jura! Pure maar stabiele wijnen op het snijvlak van traditioneel en experimenteel, voor anno 2020 bijna aandoenlijk sympathieke prijzen.

Fumey-Chatelain is een domein met zo’n 17 hectare biologisch onderhouden wijngaard in de appellatie Arbois. Dit kleine familiebedrijf is zo’n 30 jaar geleden opgericht door Raphaël Fumey (neef van Stéphane Tissot en Frédéric Lornet) en zijn vrouw Adeline Chatelain, oorspronkelijk puur om druiven te telen voor verkoop aan negociants.

However, when the terrible frost of 1991 destroyed some 95% of their vineyards, Raphael and Adeline decided to vinify the remaining grapes themselves. They turned out to be doing that very nicely, and after a few years of relatively temporary entrepreneurship they found an old farm in Montigny-lès-Arsures in 1999 where they settled permanently.

The company is now run by their young and energetic son Marin, who has been combining winemaking at home with internships abroad since 2015 (including at Crystallum in South Africa and Burn Cottage in New Zealand). Under his leadership, the conversion to organic has started in the vineyards (now practicing and soon certified, biodynamic as of 2022) and it is actively used on the export market for the first time.

Naturally, tradition and international ambition also meet in the wine cellar. All the wines of the domain are vinified naturally, with wild yeasts without additives. Some of the wines age old-fashioned on old wood, whether or not ‘sous voile’, but they also like to work with 100% aging in the tank. Almost all cuvées go into the bottle unclarified and unfiltered, protected by a little added sulphite.

We are very happy to be able to work with Fumey-Chatelain and their wines. As an importer you can rub your hands when you come across a good Jura farmer who has not yet been fully allocated, and especially if it is an energetic and progressive company like this. To the future!