Jayer - Legend Of Legends: Here You Get The Potential Of A Trinity Of Jayer, Rouget And Echezeaux

These three names are by no means insignificant in Burgundian history and now you get an attractive opportunity to invest in a strong vintage that is able to compete with DRC.

A Complicated Affair

Burgundy is full of bizarre stories, complex production and bottling arrangements, intricate ownership and, of course, the most amazing wines. If you know where to look in this orderly but complicated mess, there are exciting investment cases that go under the radar for most people. But not for you.

Here you get the opportunity to invest in the legacy of Burgundy godfather Henri Jayer, from a Burgundy producer who seems to be better than ever. And even in a brand-new release that has the ability to compete with both Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Liger-Belair.

Get an overview of the case here, dive into the full story and find prices and available wines at the end of the article.

- Opportunity to invest in the legacy of the legend Henri Jayer

- Wine from Emmanuel Rouget - one of Burgundy's thriving and hip producers.

- Grand cru investment from the Vosne-Romanée classic Echezeaux.

- Jayer discount on Rouget - good value entry into this investment

- The 2018 vintage is rated on the same level as Domaine de la Romanée-Contis Echezeaux from same vintage

Jayer, Rouget And Echezeaux: A Strong Trinity

Georges Jayer. Emmanuel Rouget. The names are undoubtedly some of the right ones. Georges Jayer is the brother of the legendary Henri Jayer and Emmanuel is the nephew of the same. Henri Jayer is widely recognized as a true legend, especially after his decease, and he is considered one of the decisive profiles that has made Burgundy what it is today - and that mainly through his activities on the grand cru vineyard Echezeaux and the premiers cru vineyard Cros Parantoux. Jayer's parcels on these vineyards were inherited by the family after his death in 2006 and are now cultivated by Emmanuel Rouget. In what is probably the most famous Echezeaux, Rouget now taps the wine under two different names; Domaine Georges Jayer and Domaine Emmanuel Rouget - a total production that is in all likelihood limited to less than 7,000 bottles per vintage!

The Successor To Henri Jayer

Henri Jayer retired in 2002 and passed away in 2006, but his legendary status remains unchanged, and if you see a Henri Jayer wine today, you can be sure it is one of the most expensive in the world.

Henri Jayer's natural successor was his nephew Emmanuel Rouget, who today takes care of the iconic vineyards where Henri Jayer worked. Henri and Georges Jayer inherited the parcels in Echezeaux from their father, and although it is not entirely clear what the division was, they are now united in production with Henri Jayer's nephew Emmanuel Rouget, who must now be described as part of the "old school" in Burgundy. In recent years, he has attracted more and more attention and has gradually fought his way up to become one of the greatest producers.

Grand Cru Echezeaux

The Echezeaux vineyard is physically located in the municipality of Flagey, but the vineyard is always counted among the grand cru's of Vosne-Romanée. The vineyard is one of the great grand cru vineyards and covers a whole 37 hectares, which in turn are divided into 11 climatic zones. Each of these sub-zones has different soils and terroirs that influence the quality of the wine. However, the most important factor in the quality of Echezeaux is above all the producers. This is where the Jayer heritage comes into play when the producer is Emmanuel Rouget. Of the 37 hectares, Emmanuel Rouget has access to the 1.43 hectares, which in turn are bottled with different labels. The three different parcels Rouget has access to deliver a wine that shows the complexity of the vineyard - and is a top Burgundy wine.

Compared to the best producers in Echezeaux, Rouget is in the upcoming category with the potential to be a top 5 producer in the best vintages - which is true in the 2018 vintage. In recent years, Rouget has taken his two sons with him in production, Nicolas in the vineyard and Guillaume in the cellar. This has provided even more stability and the family now delivers some of the best Echezeaux since Henri Jayer retired.

Rarewine Invest's Opinion

With this investment, you have the opportunity to benefit from three extremely strong names in Burgundy: Jayer, Rouget, and Echezeaux. With the latest release from Domaine Georges Jayer in Echezeaux, namely the 2018 vintage produced by Domaine Emmanuel Rouget, you get a solid Burgundy investment, from a very limited production - a wine that in all likelihood was only made in up to 3,500 bottles. At the same time, you can benefit from the fact that the version with Georges Jayer on the label is sold cheaper than Rouget's, even though the wine is exactly the same and the potential is identical - creating a solid starting point for your investment.

This is, in every sense, an opportunity to invest in and share in the legacy of Henri Jayer himself.

https://www.rarewineinvest.com

Henri Jayer, an untrained French vineyard worker who rose to become one of the most important winemakers in Burgundy in the 1970’s and 1980’s, died Wednesday in Dijon, France. He was 84.

The cause was cancer, according to Martine Saunier, his representative in the United States. He had been ill for several years and was hospitalized five weeks ago, Ms. Saunier said.

At the height of Mr. Jayer’s fame in the late 1980’s, not even the wines of the legendary Domaine de la Romanée Conti were as prized as the frustratingly small quantities of wines he produced. To own even two or three of his Échézeaux or Richebourg, or his Vosne-Romanée Clos Parentoux, was to possess a vinous treasure. Owning a full case of 12 bottles could provoke the wrath of threestar restaurateurs all over France whose cellars were filled with fine Burgundy but who had no Jayer.

Henri Jayer was born in — and rarely left — the famous wine village of Vosne-Romanée, about halfway between the city of Dijon and Beaune, the historic capital of the Burgundy wine district. A modest, unassuming and eminently approachable man, he was the quintessential Burgundian vigneron, or winemaker. What he knew he learned from observation and experimentation, among his vines and in the wine cellar.

In 1945, Mr. Jayer entered into a 10-year contract with the Noirot-Camuzet family, which owned parts of several famous vineyards in Vosne-Romanée. He tended their vines and made the wines in exchange for 50 percent of the grapes. His half was bottled under his name. The contract was extended until 1987, when a younger member of the Camuzet family took over.

Over the years, Mr. Jayer had been buying small portions of the Clos Parentoux vineyard in Vosne-Romanée from the Camuzet family and other owners. He blended Clos Parentoux wine with wines from other Vosne-Romanée vineyards until 1978. That year, for the first time, he bottled a wine entirely from Clos Parentoux; it was the wine that made his reputation, although he rarely made more than some 3,500 bottles — just under 300 cases.

Although “retired” from his contract with the Camuzets, he continued to make Clos Parentoux until 1995, when he turned the business over to a nephew by marriage, Emmanuel Rouget.

Mr. Jayer’s father, Eugène, moved to Vosne-Romanée before World War I and pieced together a small domain of about seven acres. In later years Henri and his brothers, Lucien and Georges, added small parcels to the family land and leased others. There are many Jayers in their section of Burgundy, known as the Côte de Nuits, and most of them are involved in making wine. Some have their own labels, some work for others and some, like Mr. Jayer, do both.

Mr. Jayer is survived by his wife, Marcelle Rouget Jayer, and two daughters.

Emmanuel Rouget now tends Lucien and Georges’s vineyards as well as Henri’s. A former auto mechanic, he was brought into wine growing and trained by his uncle. Some years ago, an interviewer asked Mr. Rouget if he had changed anything he had learned from Henri. “We bring in the grapes in plastic containers now, instead of wooden baskets,” he said.

By FRANK J. PRIAL Published: September 22, 2006

Henri Jayer was born in 1922 and died in 2006, by which time he had assumed legendary status. He was not initially planning to be a vigneron but accepted Etienne Camuzet’s proposal that he should look after the Camuzet vineyards during the War, and things developed from there. In due course he planted some vineyards for himself and looked after the vines of his brothers, Georges and Lucien. It is worth exploring the family tree since various other domaines enjoy the Jayer name, albeit without Henri ever having been involved in the winemaking.

Henri Jayer's personal philosophy begun with the observation that 'wine must not be brought up in cotton-wool' and 'let nature go'. He was adamant that one cannot replace artificially elements in a wine which are absent at the start. Tinkering with musts and wine to adjust the results for inadequate fruit is not the way to achieve quality. Jayer channeled his energy and expertise in producing top-class grapes to vinify from vines that are more than 50 years old. Jayer's vinification methods were not particularly unusual but they reminded us that 'wine is for pleasure so one seeks as perfect an equilibrium as possible.'

Historic Burgundies from winemaker Henri Jayer stretching back more than four decades led a wine auction by Sotheby’s (BID) in London, accounting for four of the top five lots and beating presale estimates on strong Asian demand.

Eleven bottles of Jayer’s 1970 Richebourg sold on July 17 for 72,850 pounds ($110,800) including a buyer’s premium, compared with an upper estimate excluding fees of 34,000 pounds, according to a Sotheby’s statement. A four-bottle lot of Jayer’s Vosne-Romanee 1990 Cros Parantoux and a half-case of the 1993 each sold for 37,600 pounds while a magnum of 1978 Richebourg fetched 28,200 pounds.

Demand for rare Burgundies has driven auctions this year, with Asian buyers acquire all of the top four Jayer lots and seven out of the top 10 lots at the sale. Chinese and other collectors have focused more on that region than on the Bordeaux wines which powered a market bull run in 2010 and 2011.

“The Asians are still very strong buyers,” Stephen Mould, head of Sotheby’s European wine department, said by telephone. “The online bidding goes from strength to strength.”

Jayer, who died in 2006, has become one of Burgundy’s most sought-after wine-makers. His Cros Parantoux, from a 2.5-acre (1 hectare) premier cru vineyard that was an artichoke field in World War II, has acquired trophy status, with a case of the 1985 vintage fetching as much as HK$2.06 million ($265,600) at a Christie’s International Plc sale in Hong Kong in February 2012.