1985: A Burgundy Vintage to Swoon Over
Ned Goodwin MW dives into Henri Jayer’s rare and prodigious 1985 Cros Parantoux: a Burgundy Vintage to Swoon Over
1985 is considered among the very finest Burgundy vintages of the last 30 years, possibly the century. While its warmth, precocity and abundance facilitated approachability at a relatively early stage depending on commune and site, the better Burgundy crus wielded an orb of reticence after the baby fat stage, shuffling back into their structural carapace following an early flourish of fruit. These include, of course, Henri Jayer’s prodigious Cros Parentoux.
Among the greatest commentators on Burgundy, the late Clive Coates MW opined, “In character terms, 1985 had always been a sweet, lush, but balanced vintage… – almost a cross between 2000 and 2009 – there is a certain ripeness and glycerol-fat and certainly the acidity has always seemed modest, yet there was balance and never any suggestion that these wines were not (to be) devoured and enjoyed.”
‘...The most collectible Burgundies of all from the original iconoclast....’
1985 saw above-average yields and suave, supple, exotic and thoroughly seductive wines, as a result. They are marked by modest acidities, silken tannins and bumptious, but not excessive, fruit. The year began with cool temperatures and frost, akin to 2009. Flowering was subsequently delayed ever so slightly due to a cool Spring, before the weather turned fine and dry in late August. This continued into September. This said, there was a mid-August bout of hail that cut yields, while laying waste to parts of the Côte de Beaune. Vosne-Romanée was unscathed.
The vintage was reasonably late and domaines began to harvest on the 24th of September although as was his wont, Henri Jayer commenced considerably later to cast his signature incantation on optionally ripe fruit: a relatively late harvest window, de-stemmed grapes and generous oak. The result? The most collectible Burgundies of all from the original iconoclast. After all, Jayer did things his way. Jayer’s 1985 Cros Parentoux is cast by some collectors as ‘twice as good’ as legendary wines including the Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1962 la Tâche. If ever there was a reason to use the cliché ‘liquid gold’, this is it!