H. Jayer - Echezeaux Grand Cru 1967

H. Jayer – Echézeaux Grand Cru 1967: A rarity from the master’s own cellar

The 1967 Echézeaux Grand Cru from Henri Jayer is far more than just a rare bottle – it is a piece of Burgundian wine-growing history and the work of a winemaker whom Robert Parker once hailed as the ‘master of Pinot Noir’. Henri Jayer, born in 1922 in Vosne-Romanée, was a trained oenologist who initially looked after the Camuzet family’s vineyards during the Second World War and, in 1945, signed a ten-year contract with the Noirot-Camuzet family. At the same time, he began replanting the legendary Cros Parantoux, a Premier Cru plot that had been lying fallow at the time, which he cleared by hand. His uncompromising philosophy – late harvesting, the strictest selection, fermentation with whole bunches and restrained oak ageing – made him a pioneer of the modern Burgundian style.

The Echézeaux vineyard lies at the heart of the Côte de Nuits, between Vosne-Romanée and Vougeot. Covering 37 hectares, it is one of Burgundy’s largest Grand Cru vineyards, yet its soils are extremely varied: deep layers of gravel, silt and marl alternate with limestone-rich and clay-rich plots. Jayer owned the largest plot in Echézeaux belonging to the Jayer brothers, and all his vines were situated in the climat Les Cruots (also known as Vignes Blanches), which he regarded as the finest part of the vineyard. This prestigious plot is situated in the upper part of the slope, where the soils consist of a thin layer of brown topsoil over limestone with clay inclusions, lending the wines remarkable density and an incomparable mineral depth.

The 1967 vintage in Burgundy was characterised by a frosty spring and several hailstorms in the summer. The September rains made the harvest a challenge, yet the resulting red wines displayed elegant aromas and a fine, supple structure. Christie’s described the vintage as “delicate on the palate, light and pleasant” – wines that were underrated in their day and are therefore less well known. It is precisely in years such as these that the true mastery of a winemaker like Jayer is revealed; through his rigorous selection and late harvest, he was able to produce a wine of remarkable depth and finesse even under difficult conditions.

Tasting notes for this vintage are scarce, but the general style of Jayer’s Echézeaux gives an impression of what the wine has to offer. The wines from Les Cruots are renowned for their rare aromatic depth: wild raspberry, red and black cherry, warm spices, damp earth and graphite. As the wine matures, notes of truffle emerge. The texture is dense yet elegant, with remarkable length and a fine, silky tannin structure.

Production was minuscule: Jayer often bottled just a single cask, or two in exceptional years. After the late 1990s, production was virtually halted, making the remaining bottles one of the most sought-after rarities in the world of wine. For lovers of great Burgundies , the H. Jayer Echézeaux Grand Cru 1967 is an extraordinary experience – a wine that bears the signature of one of the 20th century’s most significant winemakers and has retained remarkable versatility and depth after more than five decades of bottle ageing.