Domaine Henri Jayer

Henri Jayer was a French winemaker who is credited with some important innovations in Burgundy winemaking. He became particularly famous for the quality of his Pinot Noir. Jayer was born in Vosne-Romanée in 1922 and attended the University of Dijon. He graduated in the 1940s with a degree in ecology. In the 1950s, he began producing a wine under his own label on an inherited 3-hectare plot. Fallow plots of the Echezeaux and Beaux Monts vineyards served as the basis for a great success story. This began by building on his own legacy and introducing more revolutionary methods of winemaking. The result was particularly high-quality wines from Burgundy. Over a period of around 50 years, Jayer succeeded in gradually building up his own unique success story.

Every single sip became a rarity: at an auction in Geneva, 1064 bottles of wine from French winemaker Henri Jayer were sold for 30 million euros. That was around 28,195 euros per bottle. The fine wines come from the private wine cellar of the star winemaker, who is revered by connoisseurs as the “King of Pinot Noir”. His wines are still in great demand today and are renowned for their balance and elegance. In recent years, there has been a veritable price explosion. These fine wines are extremely expensive, with one bottle going for thousands of dollars.

After the end of the Second World War, Jayer concluded an agreement with Madame Noirot-Camuzet whereby he took over the complete management of the vineyard and received half of the harvest in return. He continued to work for the Camuzet estate, but in 1951 he began producing wines from Burgundy under his own label. He gradually acquired further plots of land for his own wine production and thus became the owner of his own vineyards.

In 1996, the French government even forced him to retire early. He therefore transferred his vineyards to his nephew, Emmanuel Rouget. Jayer himself remained active in wine production until he retired in 2001. His methods and unique concept are still regarded as pioneering achievements today. Jayer was the one who changed the luxury wine segment and is still remembered by wine connoisseurs today. After his death in 2008, Jayer will always be associated with high-priced wines.

He became particularly famous for his wines from the Vosne-Romanée Cros-Parantoux, a vineyard covering just 1.01 hectares. This vineyard is located in Vosne Romanee above the famous Grand Cru vineyard Richebourg. As the soil of this vineyard consisted only of a thin layer of clay-limestone, which also lay on a rocky bed, it was poorly suited for growing vines. The vineyard in Vosne Romanee also had a bad reputation and was considered to be very labour-intensive. Jayer took advantage of these conditions to produce a natural wine with fresh acidity. The owner of the vineyard, Madame Noirot-Camuzet, made it available to Jayer. In 1978, he produced his first Cros-Parantoux wines in the Richebourg Grand Cru vineyard.

Jayer gained great recognition for his excellent Pinot Noir production methods. The growth of weeds was controlled not by chemicals but by ploughing. After the harvest, the wine was not filtered, which is why all the wines he produced were labelled with the words “Ce vin n’a pas ete filtre” – the wine is not filtered. All wines were always destemmed, which prevented tannins in the grape stalk from getting into the wine. Jayer is also credited with the “cold maceration”, in which grapes are destemmed and filled into tanks before fermentation.

Jayer only ever produces a limited quantity of around 3,500 bottles of each wine per year. The result was an explosion in prices, which is why wine lovers today have to shell out around 10,000 dollars for a single bottle of the 2001 Jayer Vosne-Romanée Cros-Parantoux.

Jayer’s vintages begin in the late 1950s and extend to the early 2000s, although the last vintage from the Richebourg Grand Cru site was 1987, after which the harvest went to Domaine Meo Camuzet. According to him, 1959, 1971, 1978, 1980, 1985 and 1986 were the best vintages of all. However, given the rarity of the vintages, each individual vintage is a rarity in itself, and it is not without reason that they are categorised as “expensive wines”. The Echezeaux and Richebourg vineyards will always be associated with Jayer. Having died in 2008, he will always be remembered as one of the great personalities who made wine history.

Henri Jayer – VOSNE ROMANÉE 1ER CRU CROS PARANTOUX 1989

The Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux 1989 is an outstanding example of the mastery of one of Burgundy’s greatest winegrowers. This rare and sought-after bottling comes from one of the most prestigious sites in Vosne-Romanée and epitomises everything that makes a great Burgundy: complexity, elegance and fascinating depth. Henri Jayer, the pioneer of modern viticulture in the region, has created one of the finest expressions of the Cros Parantoux terroir with this wine