Henri Jayer

WINE TALK
1

I haven’t a secret.
I just let nature take its course.
I am not a brave person and as nature does the work so well, I don’t see why I should interfere.

A great wine is crafted in the vineyard, not in the cellar.

We are in a period of interventionism. Everybody feels they must DO.

Low yields
Destemming
No Filtering
Minimalist approach

HJ encapsulated the notion of the principled purist who sought to create the finest wine with the least human interference…

Does anyone know of any resources out there that reference Mr. Jayer’s thoughts on the use of new oak?

Thanks in advance.

2

…Everybody feels they must DO.

Low yields
Destemming
No Filtering
Minimalist approach

OK…Kim, I am not an expert re Henri Jayer - so I will let someone else who are more qualify to talk about him.

But let me just focus on 2 of your 4 points of comments quoted above : which are low yields and destemming.

Point 1 : Low yields - I agree.

Point 2 : Destemming.

I believe Henri Jayer destemed.

But why not [highfive.gif] ?

I asked because…there are different styles of wine-making in Burgundy. Why limited to one style ( destemmed - even if it is your preference ?

Would you like to taste a matured Richebourg crafted by Henri Janer side-by-side with a matured Richebourg made by DRC ( which is non-destemmed ) ?

3

Plenty on that subject in the Jacky Rigaux biography of Jayer that was recently translated into English. Crush sells them.

4

Peter - Have you tasted his wines?

Keith - Thanks! Exactly what I’m looking for. BTW, have you tasted his wines?

5

I’ve had only one Jayer-labeled Jayer in my life, at Troisgros, but perhaps some other Jayer-made wines under the Rouget or Meo labels - only Stuart would know for sure!

6

I did …long ago …but then I needed to stop due to the price ( and rarity - next to impossible to buy them in Canada).

The similar situation is happening …NOW…to Rousessau big 3. I used to only buy his CdBeze ( in Quebec, Canada ) but after vintage 2001…I needed to stop ( due to the price and since the birth of Meadows Burghound ) and the wines are on limited allocation.

I am not a fun of Henri Jayer for one reason. Henri Jayer wines are too pricey ( and I could get the same wines at a lower price ). What I mean is : there are many ways to enjoy burgundy…and… Henri Jayer wines were too romanized by many wine lovers.

If you own 1st Edition of Coates CdOr…there is a good description of above H. Jayer and his style of wine which are basically - low yield, 100% new oak and destemmed.

7

Peter - I’ve gotten what I can about him from Coates, Morris, and Kramer - but looking for a bit more. :slight_smile: I’m particularly interested in gaining insight as to his reasoning behind the choice to use 100% new oak for his wines…His thoughts on cold maceration are also something I’d like to check out.

8

I’ve had a couple bottles of cros parantoux and a couple of eche. They just aren’t for me. I’ve always been disappointed.

9

I know I will probably get a lot of heat for saying this but if you would like to taste the Jayer wines for less money, try the Rouget’s of the same era. For example a '90s decade Rouget Cros Parantoux would be very similar to Jayer. On the few occasions I have tasted them side by side, I might have preferred one or the other but the style and underlying material were nearly identical.

On oak, Jayer used quite a bit of very high quality oak much like Leroy or DRC.

10

Ryan - What about them made the not for you? THX

11

Too clean, too ripe, and too oaky. I thought they were very California like. Extremely well made for that style, just not my favorite. There wasn’t any heat on there. Very cycindrical and complet wines, but again, not in my wheel house.

12

Very true. BTW, Rouget’s making some awesome wines. The 85 Cros Patrantoux was one of the top five wines of my life.

13

I did like the 2000 echezeaux we had in April. Very clean and silky smooth. Incredible texture. Didn’t notice the oak imho.

14

I dont think there is any Henri Jayer Echezeaux in 2000, perhaps Rouget or George Jayer?

15

The '85 Rouget Cros was made my by Henri from what I’ve been told… that was Rouget’s first vintage. The corks from the '85 Rouget’s I’ve had all had H. Jayer printed on them.

16

There is.

17

To me, this is where the Jayer wines are very special. Like Rousseau, DRC and a few others, the texture is just very special.

18

Negative ghost rider. It was georges jayer but Henri is listed on the label as winemaker.

19

Charlie,
The bottle you had was George and Henri Jayer which is not the same as Henri Jayer. It is made by Henri Jayer but technically a different label After retiring he still made none-commercial Cros Parantouxs under his name but no echezeaux was made.

20

Was I that drunk?? Lol