FUMEY + FRIENDS x

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's September 8, 2026 newsletter

Hey,

How we all doing? Me? Not that you asked, but a slightly sore head after a wedding on the weekend followed by a small staff do last night. No rest for the wicked as I'm back tonight at Dan's, schmoozing, pouring and polishing with a winemaker in tow. Gonna be a hair of the dog situ. Come say hi and drink tasty wines with both me and Jurgen of Intellego fame. Ask me nicely and I'll give you some free tasting pours, plus a generously priced BTG and a lil' bottle list too. Also bringing over some South African rares from my stash... hehe.

If you're around, please come say hi! It's gonna be fun.

Anyway, before my weekend and start to the week degenerated, I had a peaceful bottle from Marin of Fumey-Chatelain. It reminded me that in the midst of all the fanatical Jura hype, there are some serious producers still flying under the radar. Marin might be young, but having visited the domaine a couple of years ago, I can tell you he is wise beyond his years.

He handles white wines to showcase the power of his marl-heavy soil, yet still rooted in a limestone freshness and typical mountainous minerality. His 'entry' level Chardonnay is pound for pound the most reliably tasty and typical bottle from the region. Patchwork, I'm sorry. Hopefully back later this week, though if you wanna do head-to-head. There's also a family tie to Stéphane and some plots have recently changed hands, so it's no surprise to see such familiarity in the whites.

His lieu-dit work is a small notch up in price but quality here goes through the roof. Older vine material, carefully chosen for singularity of expression. This Chardo is so layered, umami-driven and bracing. It loves oxygen and will comfortably last years in the cellar. This is the first release of a topped-up Savagnin single site: so much yellow fruit, almost tropical before things go all nutty and spicy. It's really long, like I can still taste it. Food pairing would be endless fun, but a cheese board will certainly have your head in a spin.

Marin is equally talented at vinifying reds! Le Bastard is named in reference to our Iberian friends who have also adopted this grape as their own, giving it the name Bastardo. How or why it got here, and more importantly who had it first, remains a mystery. From experience, I wouldn't ask a Jura local! This is à la Dame, the prized clonal version that brings concentration and presence, a step up from mere glou-glou with a savoury spine that will only grow more prominent with time. The Poulsard is positively pale, almost a rust-hued ruby, and always the sleeper of the range. A blend of baby vines bringing youthful vigour but with the complexity of vieilles vignes. Marin is a perfectionist, making incredibly clean yet vivid wines. I love the Jura for its wildly wines, but that does mean bottle variation comes par for the course. After tasting numerous bottles over the years, though, I've never had anything that isn't pristine and pretty from the get-go from this cellar.

Oh, he also loves sparkling wine. He opened some stupid champagne to finish our tasting when I visited. Not many winemakers want to crack open other people's wines when they're essentially trying to flog their own to people like me. He has impeccable and expensive taste, and his crémant, at a fraction of the price, didn't look out of place next to them either. It will scratch that itch and leave you with some change. Marin just loves wine, loves the Jura, and clearly loves hosting. For someone so young, I firmly believe he'll go on to cement himself and the family estate as one of the most reliable in the region, if he hasn't already. Pricing should be in line with the hyped producers, and whilst I'm sure it will rise as people finally clock on, for now we can enjoy one of the region's very best for very respectable sums.

Speaking of Jura, we've got plenty of the more hard-to-find producers on the shelves, like a recent tiny top-up from Morel. The hype doesn't seem as feverish as some, but quality is suitably high.

Chardonnay in a more classical, albeit topped-up vein. Super bright, very fresh orchard fruit, a super autumnal white and drinking beautifully atm. Valentin is also one of the few whose creativity has meant he's found a way to master macerations. Few in the Jura do it better; I can't think of a skinsy Jura I prefer to this. Shame there's just one bottle. It's got a salted butterscotch thing going for it, reminds me of Werther's Original, the kind of nostalgic pull only the most emotive wines can do. Boutasse Orange is also a wicked skinsy thing. A vineyard I've walked, it’s so beautiful tucked just next to Poligny. All dried apricot and peach skins, nostalgic for dried fruit in the packed lunch box again. ILY VALENTIN. Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of your book, finally translated to english.

Bit of Gahier still available. Idk why or how. These are stupid. I drank a bottle of this in an English vineyard earlier in the summer with good friends. It was so hot that day, and despite not being as cool as I'd liked, this was the refreshing tonic I needed. Unreal. The lightly oxy Melon is vin de garde stuff, reductive and oxidative at the same time. Really quite hectic. It starts a little sharp but with air and some food it unfurls into a wine of tear-jerking beauty. It probably needs another few years to peak, so go in early, be patient, and you'll be so rewarded. This Instagram account gives me serious FOMO. They know what they're talking about, and they seemed to like it too… Couple of reds too, hehe.

Finally, a little more Allante & Boulanger has washed up on the warehouse shores. I don't think I've ever really given this producer much of a write-up, they usually sell out in seconds, so it's not required. But in case you didn't know, this pair are ex-Labet and have carved out their own little hyped production line in Gizia, a tiny hamlet in the south of the region.

Similarities are drawn to Labet, but you need to taste the wines to really get a feel for the house style. A touch wilder, they incorporate VA in a really beautiful way and make some genuinely life-changing wine. The secondary has gone well and truly bonkers for these, so they've been put into packs. If you've bought one before, you know I'm pretty generous with what you'll get. Feel free to shoot me a message if there's a particular vibe you're into and I'll work my magic.

From the lieu-dit Patarate in Rotalier, we're dealing with 80-year-old Chardo on shallow grey marl over limestone bedrock. Vinified and aged in wooden foudres for 20 months before being bottled without sulphites, hence the *ahem* interesting labels. From a warmer vintage, it shows power but stays poised and raspy. Ages so, so well too. Give it a few years to settle, and you’ll see stars.

The reds, I think, are so, so underrated. Ethereal, and drinking, IMO, very nicely young. Difficult years prior and post '23 mean I'm certain this will go down as the best vintage of the decade round here. Trousseau at its most pretty and perfumed, crunchy fruit with just a kiss of earthy, leafy charm. Drink chilled. The Gamay from Patarate also shows why I think we'll see more of this variety planted in the Jura. As much as I love the region's reds, with it getting warmer, the likes of Poulsard are struggling. Gamay, though, seems to be thriving. A lesson in energy and tension, high-toned and vibrant, another outstanding and emotive bottle if their style is to your liking.

I realise this is getting long. Sorry, I just love this corner of France. Still loads of other icons I don't have time to mention. Tournelle, FRM, Damien Guadagnolo, Notes Blues, Bottes Rouges, Buronfosse, Domaine Ratte, Marnes Blanches, Bruno Beinaime, Novice, Aviet, Macle, Chattilon, Thibaud Pierson! Go nuts.

Speak soon,
Fionn
xoxo