Henri Jayer Echezeaux Grand Cru 1980 (1 x 750mL), France. Cork.

$32,000
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Wine Summary Image

The wine-growing village of Flagey-Echezeaux lies in the " Plain ", so-called, between Vougeot and Vosne-Romanee in the Cote de Nuits. Facing east, the Grands-Echezeaux vines are a prolongation of Musigny following the North-South axis of the Cote, but more regular and less broken in their layout. At the bottom end, the " Climat " known as La Combe d'Orveau separates them from Musigny. The Echezeaux vineyards, for their part, divide the Clos de Vougeot from the Premier Cru vines of Vosne-Romanee.

Grands-Echezeaux and Echezeaux both date their Grands Crus AOCs from July 31, 1937. Like the Clos de Vougeot (from which they are separated only by a wall), they were founded by the monks of the abbey of Citeaux and date from the 12th and 13th centuries. Their name derives from chesaux, a word of Gallo-Roman origin meaning a group of dwellings, presumably referring to an ancient hamlet.

Belonging geologically to the Jurassic (175 million years BC), the GrandsEchezeaux vineyards are fairly homogeneous and lie close to the upper part of the Clos de Vougeot. Gradient: 3-4%. Soil: clay-limestone overlying Bajocien limestone. Altitudes: 250 metres. The Echezeaux Climats have more diverse soils (largely bajocien marls with pebbly overlay). Altitudes vary from 230 to a little over 300 metres (13% gradient at mid-slope). Up-slope, the soil is deep (70-80 cm). Gravels, red alluvium, yellowish marl, etc., make up quite a complex mosaic.

Region:
FRA - Burgundy
State:
Imported
Country:
France

Grays Tasting Panel Review

Red: its colour is ruby, shading towards the darker tones of magenta and purple. Its bouquet is redolent of animal, spice notes, underbrush, and prune, evolving with age towards musk, leather, fur and mushroom. When young, its aromas suggest rose, violet and fresh cherry. On the palate, there is a heightened attack and an agreeable balance between supple tannins and fully-rounded flavour. The dense texture and tight grain of these wines fully open after 4-5 years in the cellar.

Wines so powerful and full demand to be matched with dishes of the same calibre. Virile, four-sided tannins cry out for roast lamb, rib steak, or joints of game. Autumn and winter dishes in the right setting match the profound and meaty personality of these great wines : braised beef or pork, for example, or any other good red meat. Fine, whole-milk, soft-centred cheeses will also do them proud.

Serving temperature : 15 to 16 °C.

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Winery Profile

Henri Jayer was born in 1922, the third son of Eugène with two elder brothers: Georges and Lucien. His father lived in Vosne performing relatively menial jobs, nonetheless with the nous to acquire land forsaken after the phylloxera epidemic; small parcels in Vosne-Romanée, Echézeaux and Nuits-St-Georges. During the war his brothers were at the front line and so aged sixteen he was obliged to leave school and look after his family's holdings.

Henri married Marcelle Rouget, the daughter of a winemaker, amidst the strife of World War II and it was she who encouraged her husband into viticulture. In 1941 René Engel offered to tutor the young Jayer one day per week and the following year he began oenology studies in Dijon. His holdings only amounted to 3.5 hectares, so in 1951 he purchased some wild scrubland from Mon. Roblet and began clearing the rocks with his wheel-barrow (obviously Henri had inherited his father's spirit for reclaiming and resurrecting vineyards.) According to Andrew Jefford writing in "The New France", the land had been used to grow Jerusalem artichokes. You can just imagine the young Jayer working until dusk, clearing the scrubland that was known as Cros Parantoux.

Whilst replanting some of the vines using massale selection, he augmented the small parcels that he inherited from his father with ten-year leasing arrangement (métayage) with Mme. Noirot-Camuzet and in return for tending her vines, Henri Jayer received half the crop that he could label under his own name. When she passed away in 1959, the arrangement continued with her share passing to her cousin, Jean Méo and the domaine renamed "Méo-Camuzet". They owned three parcels in Richebourg, Vosne-Romanée Les Brulée and Nuit-St. Georges 1er Cru Les Murgers and this arrangement was extended until 1987, a year before Jayer's "retirement". Jean Méo's son Jean-Nicolas, who had studied oenology, took over those parcels, although Jayer continued in an advisory role and lent great kudos to their domaine.

Henri Jayer's own holdings were passed on to his nephew Emmanuel Rouget during the 1980's since neither of his two daughters were interested in following their father's footsteps. This is where matters become confusing because Rouget bottled half the production under his own name, whilst the remainder was bottled under one of his brothers.

Henri Jayer passed away in September 2006.

The Vineyards

Under Domaine Emmanuel Rouget, there are a total of 4.9 hectares under vine all located in the Côte de Nuits. These include Echézeaux (1.5ha), Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux (0.72ha), Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Beaumonts (0.25ha), Vosne-Romanée Village (1.2ha), Nuits-St. Georges Village (0.45ha), Bourgogne Rouge (0.3ha) and Passe-Tout-Grains (0.45ha.)

Other Information

  • 1980 vintage
  • 1 x 750mL Bottle
  • FRA - Burgundy, Imported
  • Cork closure
  • Cellared

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Customer Reviews

The Grays Advantage

We’ll despatch your product the next working day! Depending on your location, you can expect delivery anywhere between 2 and 5 working days from payment date.


We will send you an email notifying you as soon as your items have left our warehouse.


In this email, you will find the name of the carrier company and the consignment note number of your item as well as information on tracking the delivery of your item online. Simply follow the link to the relevant website and enter your reference number. You will then be able to quickly and efficiently track the delivery status of your item!


Please Note: Your goods will be delivered to your registered address. We do delivery Australia wide except for a few remote territories, please check the shipping calculator to confirm delivery availability and timeframes.


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