Eric Fimbel & Lydia Houillon are a new winemaker couple southeast of Arbois. They are ‘the new thing’ and very mysterious as yet there still aren’t many bottles around. They are truly one of a kind. No prolonged elevages in the Jura style yet, but a more unique personal take. All very warm-toned, curious, and interesting. They make 3000 bottles in a good year and some 700 in a bad year. For whatever reason, Eric answered my request to help during harvest, and I showed up on a wet Tuesday morning.
The final and only day of Chardonnay harvest chez Fimbel & Houillon started with the harvest of the Champavant. A small plot southwest of Arbois, previously owned by Jean Duboz and farmed without herbicides before Eric bought the lot, with some vines being a little over 100 years old. This morning Eric had decided to start just after a night of heavy rain, in anticipation of the concentration of the grapes being very high and therefore lending well to a bit of ‘dilution’. We all arrived very late the night before in Geneva, and after being scammed into a higher price class of cars, we only ended up in Arbois at 3AM. I decided to brave through and show up for the harvest, as had been agreed, and despite not having slept a moment in the night, I ended up at Eric’s at 6.30. I had expected a large team, but in reality it was me, Eric & Lydia, three neighbors and their two kids, Nils and Nina. I felt very bad for my two promised vendangeurs getting sleep at home, but there wasn’t much we could do— ‘pas grave’ as Eric said. In two hours, we managed to harvest Champavant, which is partially planted with Savagnin, but is not ripe until next week. As I hadn’t showered, this walk in the vines was a welcome substitute as the vines were very wet. We chatted a bit and had a good time harvesting and by 9 we were done and headed back to the chai for offloading the grapes. A small tour of the cellar and we headed up for cassecrout. Bread, charcuterie, and a bit of cake. A 24 Ploussard and a 23 Chardonnay.
After breakfast, we headed to a nameless plot east of Grozon, planted with Chardonnay and Savagnin again. Healthy-looking grapes, but the final three rows had been eaten by sheep, so I’m proposing the naming of the parcel as a kind nod to how much better Jura is than Burgundy, to me— 'Les Dents de Mouton’…
Quick work here, but the day started heating up tremendously and very soon we started heading back to the house to offload and start the pressurage. The pressing here is very traditional—quick crushing followed by 6 hours in the press. Today’s harvest equals a measly 250 bottles. Eric & Lydia are very happy with their size. Bottles are very tightly allocated with only importers in a small handful of European countries and Eric wishes to keep it this way. Only when a sustainable way to maintain the quality arises could it become an actual possibility.
What followed was one of the most enchanting tastings I’ve ever had. As we waited for Tonton(Jean-Luc Houillon), we were poured a Ploussard 2024 from a magnum. As Tonton arrived, we, the Fimbel Houillon family and Jean Duboz, started a long lunch with pâté made by Lydia’s brother. And what followed was;
Fimbel & Houillon, Ploussard 19, as mentioned above.
Crimson red clear juice. Sour cherries and tomato water. Candied wild strawberries, medium acidity and a long spicy finish of five spice and cardamom. Simply excellent. There’s a certain weight to the fruit here that’s unlike anything else in the Jura. Or, it’s not weight, but more a weightlessness.
Fimbel & Houillon, Chardonnay Enfariné 2024
25% Enfariné , 75% Chardonnay.
Pours a clear salmon color. It’s more or less a BdN from a quick press of the enfariné, mixed with the Chardonnay. Very playful scent of amaretto, fennel and oxidized sweet cherries. The acidity is not particularly strong, and it seems to be made as an cuvee confidentielle for the family itself, but it may be released via small channels in Arbois.
Jean Duboz, Cuvée des non-buveços repentis 1994
Unfortunately corked, but the underlaying quality of fruits is undeniably there, and the juice is very similar to what we had just snacked on in the morning. Fun to try.
Please note his funny play— Récoltant-consommateur, on the bottom of the label.
TonTon, Les tontons cuvent 2023
Bright pale red but slightly grainy juice. Tomato water, lemon peel and spice. A very typical take on vin de soif, from this region. A very fun bottle with plenty of energy and fruit. It’s made with 1/3 of juice from Manu Houillon(Overnoy) and 2/3 of Tontons own grapes. Plenty fun.
Fimbel & Houillon, Enfariné 2022
Single-standing experiment with the local variety enfariné. It’s a grape that produces very strong acidity and structure and is typically used by Ganevat to give more seriousness to his Poulsard cuvees. It’s a wine that’s very similar to something like a Saumur-Champigny.
We were served a leg of lamb with potatoes. Simply lovely, there in the shade on a hot, hot late summer day. The talk fell on the pitfalls of appellation and so many other things. I lost count. Lydia is a very curious, talkative and attentive person. While her brother Manu is held back and shy, Lydia is quite the opposite. A joy to be around. Eric is a very strongly built man, with a signature tied beard, and a tattoo on his arm that lends inspiration to their label. In the vineyards, he’s focused and driven to get the grapes down in the time he sees fit. Focus above all.
After a while, we’re very toasted. As I had my 4 glasses of wine with breakfast at 10, and no sleep, I’m starting to see myself from above, much like ‘Enter The Void’ by Gaspar Noé. But there’s no doubt among us here that we’re being treated like we wouldn’t expect to be ever. These are the kindest people.
Fimbel & Houillon, Rose des Nos Vignes 2024.
Very little nose and body. Rhubarb juice, celery and underripe yet sweet cherries. The hybrid component here is very dominant. Hardly any scent, and hardly any depth. Low acidity. It’s a quite non-descript cuvee. If Eric wishes this to be something, it will.
In between here we end up having another bottle of Tonton Ploussard 2023
Fimbel & Houillon, Savagnin Viaduc 2021
We’re starting to zero in on what Eric wants to say he’s able to make. This is their top cuvee. A razor through a green apple. A streak of salt. A melange of stone fruits. I haven’t had such a strong savagnin in many years. It’s unlike anything I’ve had before and I’m left speechless.
Fimbel & Houillon, Chardonnay 2023
Second time for me this day. Very, very ripe and very marked by the barrel. Milky, leesy, and just fantastic, but there’s a green and bitter streak at the end. Not fully convinced, but it’s the most atypical Chardo for me in a while. Sure this will come together nicely in 5 years time.
Fimbel & Houillon, Ploussard Berangeres 2025
Much like the other Ploussards, there’s quite a lot of extraction here. Dark and clear crimson. Cola, a touch of herbs, and an ethereal layer of cherries, etc. Simply an amazing wine in the making.
Fimbel & Houillon, Savagnin Viaduc 2022
For a final bottle to try and captivate us, Eric pulls the final bottle he wants to say something with, and this one has it all. Layers upon layers of chamomile mixed with green apples, drizzled with salt and dipped in honey. Acidity for days. It’s fantastic, and I’m getting a little emotional.
I think I forgot a handful of bottles. It’s crazy to think there are about 200-700 bottles of each cuvee and that we’ve been given this level of trust and had this huge spread. We say goodbye and head home for a blinder before getting a good 10 hours of sleep.
We’re harvesting 1 or 2 other domaines, including Antoine Robles and Thomas Popy, so I’ll continue this thread.
