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.