Henri Jayer (1922 – 20 September 2006) was a French
vintner
A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:
*Cooperating with viticulturists
*Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...
who is credited with introducing important innovations to
Burgundian winemaking
Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...
. He was particularly known for the quality of his
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
.
[M. Frank "Burgundy Loses Master Winemaker" ''Wine Spectator'' Nov. 30th, 2006] Jayer was born in
Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
Population
Wine
It produces the region's most celebrated wines, all made entirely from the Pinot noir grape: "There can be little ...
. He attended the
University of Dijon
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
in the 1940s and earned a degree in
oenology
Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...
. Using a inheritance that included parcels in the
Échezeaux and
Beaux Monts vineyards, Jayer began producing wine under his own label in the 1950s. Henri Jayer wines are now highly sought after and renowned for their balance and elegance, as well as their lushness and concentration. One bottle sells for thousands of dollars.
Innovations
Jayer opposed extensive use of chemicals in vineyards and advocated plowing to control
weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
s. Jayer believed that low yields were the foundation of truly great wines. Jayer was noted for his refusal to filter his wines and known for always
destemming his grapes in contrast to habits of other growers in Burgundy that even today let stems go through the crusher when vintages does not provide enough
tannin
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...
s. This has the side effect of adding tannins with more green and bitter character. Jayer also invented a new technique called
cold soak
Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...
that is a pre-
maceration avoiding spontaneous
fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
at temperature of about 10 °C for 1–4 days. The method aims to extract more complex
aromas,
color
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
, less harsh tannins and add more nose to wines.
He is noted for his wines from the
premier cru
Cru is a wine term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French word which is traditionally translated as "growth", as is the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow); it literally means 'grown'. The ...
Cros-Parantoux - a very small vineyard (only 1.01 hectares) of
Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
Population
Wine
It produces the region's most celebrated wines, all made entirely from the Pinot noir grape: "There can be little ...
at a high altitude above the famous
grand cru
Cru is a wine term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French word which is traditionally translated as "growth", as is the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow); it literally means 'grown'. The ...
vineyard
Richebourg. This vineyard at the time had low reputation and was considered too much work and not worth bothering with. The soil consisted of very thin layer of clay limestone sitting on a bed of rock. The soil is very poor, it is very rocky and very cold. Jayer understood early that these conditions made up for a very good natural and fresh acidity in wines. In collaboration with Madame Noirot-Camuzet, who owned the vineyard, Jayer took care of her vineyards (beginning after the war in 1945) and for that was offered to keep half of the harvest for himself. As is the custom of Burgundy, Jayer bought piece by piece through the years of this vineyard from the Camuzet family and in 1978 he was convinced that the quality was right and decided to produce his first 100% cros-parantoux wines.
Jayer made limited quantities of all of his wines (only about 3,500 bottles a year); today, you'll pay around more than $10,000 for a single bottle of 2001 (his last vintage) Henri Jayer Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux.
Later years
In 1996, the French Government told Jayer that he must either retire or forfeit his pension. In response, Jayer transferred his vineyards to his nephew, Emmanuel Rouget, but was still responsible for half the wine being bottled under Rouget's name until 2002.
Jayer's last vintage was in 2001. Jayer died in
Dijon, France
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earliest ...
of
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
, aged 84.
References
External links
Brown, Corie. (2006, September 23). ''Henri Jayer, 84; Celebrated Producer of Burgundy Wines''. The Los Angeles TimesBerenger, Christine. (2010, February 17)."Véronique Drouhin-Boss, Head Winemaker for Maison Joseph Drouhin and Domaine Drouhin". www.favabeansandchianti.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayer, Henri
1922 births
2006 deaths
20th-century French businesspeople
20th-century French inventors
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in France
Date of birth missing