Domaine Henri Jayer

Henri Jayer was born in 1922 and spent most of his life in Vosne-Romanée, where his father Eugène owned several small vineyard parcels. In 1939, at 17, he quit school to help his father after his two older brothers were drafted for the Second World War. In 1942 he married Marcelle Rouget, who became his partner in the vineyards. He struck out on his own in 1945, signing a 10-year contract with the Noirot-Camuzet family to cultivate several of their plots in premier and grand cru vineyards and make the wines, in return taking 50 percent of the grapes for his own label. He also added parcels of his own, eventually owning 16 acres in top vineyards such as Échezeaux and Cros Parantoux.

• Born 1922; his father Eugène owned several small vineyard parcels in Vosne-Romanée
• Began making wine with his father in 1939 and struck out on his own in 1945
• Married Marcelle Rouget in 1942; she became his partner in the vineyards
• 1945: a 10-year contract with the Noirot-Camuzet family, with half the grapes going to his own label

Cros Parantoux is a Vosne-Romanée premier cru of 1.01 hectares on the border of Richebourg and Petits Monts. Before phylloxera it had a poor reputation, and because the ground was hard to work it was little replanted afterward. When Jayer began his work there, the whole unplanted plot belonged to Madame Noirot-Camuzet. After the Second World War he cleared its overgrown scrub, rocks and vegetable gardens to plant vines, dynamiting the plot and even growing vegetables in it along the way. In 1957 the family sold him 0.72 hectares, making him the largest owner, and he continued to farm the vines the Camuzet family retained. The site had long been bottled only as a villages wine; Jayer first marketed Cros Parantoux under his own label with the 1978 vintage, and he never made more than 300 cases of it. He regarded his 1978 red Burgundies as the best wines of his career. Jayer eventually owned about three-quarters of Cros Parantoux and also farmed the remaining parcel, which belonged to Méo-Camuzet.

• A 1.01-hectare premier cru on the border of Richebourg and Petits Monts
• Cleared and planted by Jayer after the Second World War; he bought 0.72 hectares in 1957
• First sold under the Henri Jayer label with the 1978 vintage; never more than 300 cases
• As of 2006, two owners and exploiters: Méo-Camuzet and Emmanuel Rouget

Jayer's own holdings in the Côte d'Or came to 16 acres, including the grand cru Échezeaux and the premier cru Vosne-Romanée Beaumonts as well as Cros Parantoux. For many years Jean Méo leased out his vineyards to Henri Jayer and other Vosne winemakers; the Méo family owns vines in Chaumes, Brûlées, Échezeaux and Richebourg. Jean Méo had promised those who leased parts of the estate that they could keep their leases until they reached retirement age. In 1987 a younger member of the Camuzet family took over winemaking for what is now Domaine Méo-Camuzet, allowing Jayer to focus solely on his own plots. When Jean-Nicolas Méo moved to Vosne-Romanée permanently in 1989, Jayer, a leaseholder of the estate, offered him a helping hand; Méo recalls that Jayer conveyed the philosophy "that wine should, above all, bring pleasure."

• Owned 16 acres in the Côte d'Or, including grand cru Échezeaux and premier cru Vosne-Romanée Beaumonts
• Leased vineyards from Jean Méo, alongside other Vosne winemakers
• 1987: a younger Camuzet family member took over winemaking for what is now Domaine Méo-Camuzet
• Offered a helping hand to Jean-Nicolas Méo, who moved to Vosne-Romanée permanently in 1989

Alongside Cros Parantoux and Richebourg, Jayer made wines from Échezeaux, Vosne-Romanée Beaumonts, Vosne-Romanée Les Brûlées, Nuits-St.-Georges Les Meurgers, Nuits-St.-Georges and Vosne-Romanée. His winemaking was rather traditional at first, and he sold much of the wine he made to négociants. Cros Parantoux made him known among collectors in the United States, through Martine Saunier, his importer there for more than 30 years. Through the 2001 vintage he still made about 1,000 bottles from two-thirds of an acre of Cros Parantoux.

• Cros Parantoux and Richebourg
• Échezeaux, Vosne-Romanée Beaumonts and Vosne-Romanée Les Brûlées
• Nuits-St.-Georges Les Meurgers, Nuits-St.-Georges and Vosne-Romanée
• US importer: Martine Saunier, for more than 30 years

From the 1950s Jayer refined his techniques, striving for very low yields and avoiding fertilizers; he worked the vines with his hands and his horse. He rejected whole clusters and destemmed all of his grapes. In the cellar he used five- to seven-day cold macerations, followed by long fermentations with native yeasts in small cement tanks, then aged the wines in 100-percent new oak and bottled them by hand, unfiltered. Tasting the 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges in 2004, Jayer told Wine Spectator that "color doesn't make the quality of Pinot Noir."

• Very low yields and no fertilizers
• Full destemming and five- to seven-day cold macerations
• Long native-yeast fermentations in small cement tanks
• 100-percent new oak; bottled by hand, unfiltered

In 1996, after the French government told him he must retire or lose his pension, Jayer rented out most of his vineyards to his nephew Emmanuel Rouget, keeping less than 1 acre of Cros Parantoux for himself. In 2002 Rouget rented that parcel too, and all wines from Jayer's vineyards were then sold under the Domaine Emmanuel Rouget label. Rouget's cellar is in Flagey-Échézeaux, a nearby commune. Jayer stopped for good in 2002 but remained on hand to help afterward. As of January 2017, the wines of Domaines Emmanuel Rouget and Georges Jayer in Vosne-Romanée, previously vinified by Henri Jayer, were in the hands of a new generation: Rouget's son Guillaume had been winemaker since the 2011 vintage, and his son Nicolas acting chef de culture since 2008.

• 1996: nephew Emmanuel Rouget rented most of the vineyards; Jayer kept less than 1 acre of Cros Parantoux
• 2002: Rouget rented the Cros Parantoux parcel as well, and all wines went under the Domaine Emmanuel Rouget label
• Rouget's cellar is in Flagey-Échézeaux
• As of January 2017: Guillaume Rouget winemaker since the 2011 vintage, Nicolas Rouget acting chef de culture since 2008

On 17 June 2018 Baghera Wines auctioned the remaining bottles from Jayer's personal cellar at Domaine de Châteauvieux in Geneva: 855 bottles and 209 magnums in 215 lots, from vintages 1970 to 2001. The wines had remained in Jayer cellars until February 2018 and came to auction after his two daughters, Lydie and Dominique, decided to sell. The sale realized CHF34.5 million (US$34.7 million), more than double the pre-sale high estimate of CHF13 million, and Wine Spectator reported the total as the largest ever achieved by a single wine auction. The top lot, 15 magnums of Cros Parantoux from 1978 to 2001, fetched CHF1.16 million including the buyer's premium. An earlier sale of Jayer wines in Hong Kong in 2012 realized $8.5 million. Burgundy Report has called his labels "the most falsified and fabricated that you could imagine."

• 17 June 2018, Baghera Wines, Domaine de Châteauvieux, Geneva
• 855 bottles and 209 magnums in 215 lots, vintages 1970 to 2001
• CHF34.5 million (US$34.7 million) against a pre-sale high estimate of CHF13 million
• Top lot: 15 magnums of Cros Parantoux, 1978 to 2001, CHF1.16 million

Sources: Wine Spectator (https://www.winespectator.com/articles/burgundy-loses-master-winemaker-3214, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/henri-jayer-2098, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/henri-jayer-burgundy-auction, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/henri-jayer-burgundy-sale-sets-auction-record), Decanter (https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/henri-jayer-cellar-auction-395562/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/rouget-jayer-us-importer-change-352603/, https://www.decanter.com/features/vosne-romanee-247983/, https://www.decanter.com/features/jean-nicolas-meo-decanter-interview-247707/) and Burgundy Report (https://www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/10-2006/vosne-romanee-a-profile/). Last verified 2026-10-18