Henri Jayer

Here, every single sip developed into 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.

But who was Henri Jayer? What made him so famous?

Henri Jayer was a French winemaker who is credited with some important innovations in Burgundy winemaking, and 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 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.

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 estate in return for half of the harvest. He continued to work for the Camuzet estate, but in 1951 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. Having died in 2006, Jayer will always be associated with high-priced wines.

Vosne-Romanée Cros-Parantoux

He became particularly famous for his wines from Vosne-Romanée Cros-Parantoux, a vineyard covering an area of 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, which the owner of the vineyard, Madame Noirot-Camuzet, made available to Jayer. In 1978, Jayer bottled his first Cros-Parantoux wine.

"Ce vin n'a pas ete filtre"

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 "cold maceration", in which grapes are destemmed and placed in 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 2006, he will always be remembered as one of the great personalities who made wine history.

Here are some tasting notes on the wines of Henri Jayer

1993 Domaine Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux

The 1993 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux from Henri Jayer is one of those dreamlike wines you only encounter once in a while. There is a magnificent intensity to this Pinot Noir that possesses such transparency and delineation, you do not know what to do with yourself except smile. So perfumed! Mulberry dallies with red berries, a faint scent of black truffle and iris. The palate is smooth and sensual. Before I knew its identity, I suggested it might be from Lalou Bize-Leroy. Silky to the touch, the texture is so supple that it belies that structure underneath. Then the wave of minerals wash over you on the long finish, a coda of tart red cherries lingering in the mouth. Even God did not anticipate such Pinot Noir when he invented the variety. Tasted January 2016 (source Robert Parker online).

1987 Domaine Henri Jayer Richebourg Grand Cru

The Richebourg (all 25 cases of it) could easily be confused with a 1985. It has a deep, dark ruby colour, a fabulous bouquet of raspberry fruit, vanilla, and toast, and a long, velvety, rich finish. It has plenty of soft tannins to help it last, but it will be difficult not to drink this wine before 1994-1996 as it tastes so good (source Robert Parker online).

The Richebourg should reach its full potential around 1994-1995, and the staggering concentration of fruit, tight structure, and smashing length of this wine are the sorts of things that make great burgundy legendary.

1985 Domaine Henri Jayer Richebourg Grand Cru

When asked why his wines are so consistently great, Jayer simply responds, "I make the kind of wine I like." His wines are aged in 100% new oak, are never filtered, and are bottled directly from the barrel. The excellent colour and well-delineated, intense Pinot Noir fruit he gets could well come from his special "cold maceration," which involves totally destemming the grapes after picking and putting them in tanks where they stay before the fermentation starts. Modern oenologists would no doubt be horrified at such a process as the risk of oxidation is high, but never, ever have I tasted a volatile or oxidised bottle of wine from Jayer. As he says, to make great wine, one must assume certain risks. Jayer feels his finest vintages are 1978, 1985, 1980, and 1986. The 1985s are all quite profound, deeply coloured, and packed with fruit. They should last and improve until at least 1997-2003. They are more tannic than many other 1985s. (Source Robert Parker online).

1982 Domaine Henri Jayer Echézeaux Grand Cru

The 1982 Echezeaux Grand Cru from Henri Jayer is one of those wines where I am so glad to have been able to assess it over the course of a couple of hours, here, at a splendid lunch in Hong Kong. This mercurial wine commences with a typical 1982 nose: a little diffuse and ferrous, musky with girolles and black truffle. The palate is nicely balanced but rustic and loose-knit, and over the course of 60 minutes those threads tend to loosen and it feels like it is falling apart. Then it miraculously seems to embroider itself back together, like a ragdoll coming back to life. It gains cohesion, weight and intensity, and by the end of the lunch it is probably drinking better than ever. This is quite an astonishing, cerebral wine. Drink now-2018+. Tasted November 2013 (source Robert Parker online).

1985 Domaine Henri Jayer Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers

The Nuits St.-Georges Les Murgers is rich, tannic, deep, and backward, but oh so pure. When asked why his wines are so consistently great, Jayer simply responds, "I make the kind of wine I like." His wines are aged in 100% new oak, are never filtered, and are bottled directly from the barrel. The excellent colour and well-delineated, intense Pinot Noir fruit he gets could well come from his special "cold maceration," which involves totally destemming the grapes after picking and putting them in tanks where they stay before the fermentation starts. Modern oenologists would no doubt be horrified at such a process as the risk of oxidation is high, but never, ever have I tasted a volatile or oxidised bottle of wine from Jayer. As he says, to make great wine, one must assume certain risks. Jayer feels his finest vintages are 1978, 1985, 1980, and 1986. The 1985s are all quite profound, deeply coloured, and packed with fruit. They should last and improve until at least 1997-2003. They are more tannic than many other 1985s (source Robert Parker online).

Conclusion: The magician of Pinot Noir

Henri Jayer was not a winemaker - he was an alchemist who transformed simple Burgundies into liquid works of art. Today, his wines are the most expensive in the world (Cros Parantoux surpasses even Romanée-Conti!), but their true value lies in their timeless beauty.