Whispers in the Limestone: Why Overnoy’s 2018 Pupillin Is a Cult Thrill - but a Wobbly Bet
Bacchus carves crimson fog through Jura dawn, then weighs a $58 allocation Ploussard whose hype outpaces its price chart.
Fog-cutting fable
Long before spreadsheets tracked bottles, I drifted through Pupillin on a night so fog-choked even rowdy satyrs lost their way. With a quick spiral of my thyrsus I twisted the mist into a tight red ribbon and sent it whistling across the vines. At sunrise villagers found every Ploussard berry stained the shade of crushed rose petals and humming with nervous energy. The ribbon has faded, but that charge still lives in Domaine Overnoy’s 2018 - and energy alone is not the same as easy profit.
Market pulse
Liv-ex records Arbois Pupillin 2018 at 58 dollars and twenty-nine cents a bottle under LWIN 14344712018. Since November 2023 the price has crawled from 57 dollars to just under 59, a modest compound gain of 1.34 percent and a total lift of barely 3.3 percent. Volatility rests at a reasonable 30 percent, yet forecast engines mutter: models project a slide of about one percent within three months, five percent inside a year, and nearly ten percent by 2027. Liquidity is thin; on many trading days only one or two bids flicker across the screen.
Auction murmur
Scarcity still sparks bidding frenzies - sometimes. A three-bottle lot at Baghera’s February Jura sale drew 190 euro before fees, roughly market value, but a similar parcel in New York failed to clear reserve when casual speculators stayed home. The message is clear: demand burns white-hot but shallow, and a cool breeze can snuff it out.
Vintage character and cellar care
The warm 2018 season draped ripe fruit over Pupillin’s usual skeletal frame. Aromas lean toward wild strawberry, cranberry skin, pink peppercorn and a faint saline edge. The wine’s sweet spot should run from 2025 to 2028, stretching to 2030 if bottles sleep at a rock-steady 55°F with 70 percent humidity. Zero-sulfur winemaking magnifies aromatic fireworks but punishes negligence; a summer-hot closet can invite mousey off-notes that pulverize resale value.
The ledger of risk and reward
Cult aura, ultra-limited allocation and genuine natural-wine pedigree all bolster long-term collector appeal. On the flip side, price momentum is stalling, liquidity remains fragile, and market chatter suggests a speculative bubble inflating across the Jura. Historical downside looks gentle - maximum drawdown sits near seven percent - but forecast charts tilt red. An investor with a performance mandate may prefer Champagne prestige cuvées or white-Burgundy growth stocks that trade in deeper pools.
Bacchus’ guidance
If you crave a direct line to natural-wine lore, pick up one or two bottles, open one at its zenith and shelve the other for bragging rights. Enter closer to fifty-five dollars if you can; every saved dollar is a buffer against a future slide. Portfolio managers focused on hard returns should mark Pupillin on a watch list and wait for a broader correction. Remember my crimson ribbon: time your cut precisely and the vines sing; swing wide and you are left clutching damp mist.
