Did Jayer make all the wine at Meo till 88 or only those he released under his label ?
Hi Nick,
Henri Jayer only made the Cros Parantoux, Brulees, Murgers and Richebourg (and perhaps the village Vosne?) during his time as Meo’s winemaker prior to Jean-Nicolas’ arrival in 1989. The other Meo bottlings were made by the other regisseurs working those vines.
All the Best,
John
Did he make those with his grapes (all 1 blend) or did he make them separately (1 Meo cuvee and 1 Jayer cuvee)?
Thanks John.
Hi Michael,
The Murgers, Brulees and Richebourg were all Meo parcels, so there was one winem, just split between the two estates. Not sure about the Cros Parantoux, as Henri was buying that vineyard up whenever possible (much of it was fallow in the aftermath of the second world war, as folks used it for growing vegetables, rather than grapes during the war) and replanting his recently-purchased sections. I would assume that there was not enough production early on from these young vines, so that there would only have been one cuvee, but not sure about vintages on into the 1970s, when his own parcels would have gotten older and might have merited a bottling on their own. I have only tasted these Meo bottlings from the decade of the 1980s, as prior to that, it is my understanding that the wines were either sold off in bulk or kept for family drinking, and the only fairly old Meo wine that I have had from the era when Henri was making the wine was the 1964 Richebourg- which was pretty fine indeed!
All the Best,
John
So, John, it is your understanding that Jayer made the wines (other than the Cros P) from those parcels for which he was a metayeur (sharecropper) and the other metayeurs of Meo parcels, like the Faurois family, made their own…and that each of them bottled the Meo share with a Meo label? So…there were a bunch of winemakers making Meo wines before '89?
I have not heard this…or anything to the contrary…so I am seeking info on this.
FWIW, I was “researching” this issue via the Remington Norman books. The first edition says that Jayer “made” the wines from 1945, though there were sharecroppers, including Jayer. The second edition of the book says that Jayer “made many of the wines” from 1945 on. So, it seems plausible that of the wines bottled under the Meo-Camuzet label before the vineyards reverted to the estate, not all were made by Jayer.
added:
I had forgotten that there was a 3rd edition, in 2010, done by someone else, and that I had it. In that edition, the article states that the domaine first bottled any wine under its own label in 1985 (which is about when the Jayer metayage relationship ended and Jayer “retired” (though he never really did). So…the metayeurs (Jayer, the Faurois family, Jean Tardy) made their own wines under their own labels with their halves. The article says that the Meo family sold their shared of the crops to the local negociants in bulk before the 1985 vintage. So, essentially, the “estate” was a newly created estate from 1985…and didn’t have any wines it made or sold before then, it seems.
I saw some 1983 Meos listed for sale recently. How does that make any sense if the domaine didn’t start bottling until 1985?
Though I have no personal info…it could “make…sense” if they bottled the '83s in '85.
There are other possibilities, too…for example that someone else, perhaps a negociant…bottled some for them under their label.
It could also make sense if Rudy was involved.
Just some ways it could make sense…or not.