Jayer Echezeaux puzzle

[balex]

I have some wine I bought about 10 years ago that is an Echezeaux 1985. On the label it says

produit vinifie' eleve' et mis en bouteille par Henri Jayer

and then underneath in smaller writing

Georges Jayer Proprietaire a Vosne Rosmanee.

My question: what exactly is this wine? I think that Henri Jayer owns some land in Ech., as does his elder brother Georges.

This, I assume, is the parcel owned by Georges: is there a substantial difference in quality and or price between the two wines? Which is this?

Any Burgundy experts out there? Claude?

[Echezeaux]

Henri Jayer is the youngest of three, his older brothers being Georges Jayer and Lucien Jayer.

Georges was a forest worker. Wines bearing Henri's label were identical to those with Georges' label.

The wine of Lucien was also vinified by Henri Jayer but from vineyards tended exclusively by Lucien.

There's a Jaqueline Jayer...she's Henri's cousin. Another cousin is Madeline Jayer who's married to Alfred Haegelen. (Haegelen-Jayer). Madeline's brother is named Robert and his label is "Jayer-Gilles."

Henri married Marcelle Rouget...her uncle worked at the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

Henri's nephew is Emmanuel Rouget and he now takes care of the vineyards in the Jayer "domaine." Today Emmanuel vinifies all the wines together and he bottles half under his name, the rest being offered under the names of the Jayer brothers.

[Craig Camp]

Henri Jayer is the youngest of three, his older brothers being Georges Jayer and Lucien Jayer. 

Georges was a forest worker.  Wines bearing Henri's label were identical to those with Georges' label. 

The wine of Lucien was also vinified by Henri Jayer but from vineyards tended exclusively by Lucien. 

There's a Jaqueline Jayer...she's Henri's cousin.  Another cousin is Madeline Jayer who's married to Alfred Haegelen.  (Haegelen-Jayer).  Madeline's brother is named Robert and his label is "Jayer-Gilles."

Henri married Marcelle Rouget...her uncle worked at the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. 

Henri's nephew is Emmanuel Rouget and he now takes care of the vineyards in the Jayer "domaine."  Today Emmanuel vinifies all the wines together and he bottles half under his name, the rest being offered under the names of the Jayer brothers.

Beautiful - the family tree book of Burgundy. You can't tell the players without a scorecard. Echezeaux you should do a book.

Might you also comment on the quality of the various bottlings?

[Echezeaux]

Might you also comment on the quality of the various bottlings?

I have not tasted enough of these to offer comments of much value.

What I can say is I cannot afford the prices these wines command today.

I was fortunate to be served an Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux 1992 last year. This was not a stellar vintage, yet the wine was incredibly complex and, though technically flawed, still a lovely bottle of wine. This was served "blind" and the host asked the guests to take a stab at identifying the wine. I guessed it to be a "small, artisan producer from Burgundy, Cote de Nuits, certainly...older wine or nearing maturity." The host, whom I later realized makes a career out of being a contrarian, then proclaimed it was a huge producer's effort.

"I don't care...all I can tell you is what I taste in this glass."

I think he was surprised I didn't cave in and change my mind about the wine...but I later saw this fellow really loves having people guess and then he routinely attempts to push them in an entirely different direction, especially if they are on the right track.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Emmanuel Rouget wines I've tasted have been good, but not superior to the current wines of the DRC or Leroy wines.

The Haegelen-Jayer wines have been pleasant, but not nearly as compelling as those of Meo-Camuzet (Henri Jayer used to 'rent' vineyards from the Camuzet's...the lease ran out a few years ago, so now Meo-Camuzet makes all its own), Henri Jayer or others.

Robert Jayer-Gilles wines are marked by a very strong toasty, smoky oak quality. If you're not a fan of decidedly woodsy/woody wines, his are not for you.

[ASCH]

Balex,

The Jayer wines have different names because they all come from different plots of Echezeaux in different climats (there are 11 in Echezeaux). The Henry is the best bottling, and is the most expensive - second in line would be the Georges (a more fruit driven example) - and then the Rouget which is a blend of the different plots.

Although there is a lot of misinformation about what exactly happens with the wines now, as Georges is dead, the wines are still different as Henry's vines are in Cruots and the others in Treux.

There is price difference - following the order listed above.

Your '85 is mature, so have fun!

[balex]

Thanks for the information; sometimes I think I will never really understand Burgundy. I'll post a tasting note when I drink some of it.

[Schneier]

...sometimes I think I will never really understand Burgundy.

It's a lifetime's work.

Bruce

[hoobs]

I have been presented with a few bottles of Henri Jayer Echezeaux. Some have accents over the 1st and 2nd e in Echezeaux. I have seen online photos of labels with and without accents. Any rhyme or reason here would help in determining whether this is any indication of fakes.

[CRISTAU]

There can be an accent over the 1rd & 2nd e in Echezeaux. Certainly not on the third as "éau" does not exist in French. The old writing of echezeaux was Echeuzeaux. Echezeaux however how it is written should still read "écheuzeaux". This informations come from the book of Jean-François BAZIN about Burgundy wines (the most recognized one).

Accordign to grammar specialists, capital letters never have accents in French but the press uses it more and more to avoid misunderstandings. Wines makers will use it sometime also.

Different wine makers will use different writings of the name. JAYER uses capital letters, I saw some labels on the net with accented capitals (one and two), and some without, difficult to say if it is fakes, or different labels for different markets, or different years of printing?

On a french blog, somebody noticed other differences which may imply fake: the wine producer place was different (Nuits saint Georges instead of Flagey Echezeaux for Emmanuel ROUGET), also 1er Cru was not mentioned after the name VOSNE ROMANÉE for a CROS PARENTOUX.

Edited January 26, 2015 by CRISTAU (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

There can be an accent over the 1rd & 2nd e in Echezeaux. Certainly not on the third as "éau" does not exist in French. 

 

Sorry, the linguist in me had to correct you...

 

Fléau

Boréaux

 

And a couple of others.

 

You're probably right about everything else though.