Maison Pierre Overnoy/Emannuel Houillon-Overnoy

Pierre Overnoy, born in 1937, is considered one of the fathers of natural wines, and made his wines without added sulfites from the mid-1980s. Today this is continued by his successor and adopted son Emmanuel (Manu) Houillon, and his wife Anne. It remains a small 6-ha estate with vineyards solely in Pupillin, growing mainly Chardonnay, Savagnin and Ploussard, with a tiny amount of young Trousseau, from which a Ploussard-Trousseau blend was made first in 2018.

Certified organic, the vineyards are managed meticulously, mainly along biodynamic lines. Barrels, foudres and concrete eggs are used in the ultra-clean cellars for long ageing, with further bottle ageing before release. The main range of wines is small, and it is only the colour of the wax cap that identifies what’s in the bottle (white for Chardonnay, yellow for Savagnin, red for Ploussard, violet for Trousseau-Ploussard). A Vin Jaune is released occasionally plus some other speciality releases.

Note that there are other, separate Overnoy domaines run by cousins.

This domaine has been hugely influential on younger generations of winemakers in the Jura and far beyond. However, since about 2015 the wines have begun to be traded on grey markets, and widely speculated on, so check sources carefully, pay the right price and beware of fakes.