Henri Jayer

There is perhaps no other grower that has had such an iconic status amongst some Burgundy collectors as Henri Jayer. He was born in 1922 and despite his 'paysan' appearance and status, he was one of the first winemakers to have gone to oenology school (in Dijon). This education brought forth notable changes in the way Burgundian vineyards were farmed and the wines made. He opposed the extensive use of chemical treatments in the vines which had been made popular at the time and advocated ploughing instead to control weeds. He believed in low yields and refused to filter any of his wines, as he wanted all of their natural flavors to remain intact. He is also credited with inventing cold soaking the grapes before fermentation (keeping the crushed grapes intact with the juice at a cooler temperature before it ferments). This enables more fruit to surface and often allows for deeper color. Cynics, however, would claim that this is a natural phenomenon which happened all the time in Burgundy during cooler harvests - so no inventing there. He also eschewed the use of whole clusters in winemaking stating that stems did not taste good - despite celebrated domaines like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti having always used them and producing legendary wines. His most famous wine contribution was that of Vosne-Romanée Crox Parantoux, a vineyard higher up the hill from Richebourg. At the time he began making wine, it was a vineyard that had a lesser reputation and was considered too much work and not worth it as the soil was thin and poor (there is large solid rock just underneath its surface). But he recognized that it was this that brought for excellent quality fruit so in collaboration with Madame Noirot-Camuzet, who owned the vineyard at the time, began taking care of her vineyards in exchange for some of the grapes. He eventually was able to buy some of the parcels and it became his most famous wine which is more expensive than many grand crus (Méo Camuzet still owns a part (0.3 ha). When he retired in 1995, he passed his vineyards to his nephew Emmanuel Rouget who continued making his wines (though his last vintage of Richebourg was the 1987). Despite Emmanuel “officially” making both his own and Henri’s wines, Henri continued to produce small quantities of Cros Parantoux up to 2001 – his last vintage (and also helped vinify half of Rouget’s production until 2002). Henri passed away in 2006, leaving a legacy that continues to be revered.