Artichoke Fields Forever: The Story of Vosne-Romanee's Most Mythical Vineyard

In this personal and whimsical journey, Guy Ruston takes us beyond the limestone and marl to explore the vineyard that once housed Jerusalem artichokes and now produces some of the most coveted Pinot Noir in the world

“Let me take you down

‘Cause I’m going to Artichoke fields…”

In an alternate universe, John, Paul, George and Ringo took inspiration from Pinot Noir and Burgundy rather than LSD and India, and subsequently through their spiritual awakening, penned an immortal ode to Vosne Romanee’s Cros Parantoux vineyard….accompanied with the much-loved B-side ‘Charlemagne’ (Penny Lane)…

What’s that line from Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin; ‘Burgundy makes you think of silly things…’?

There is perhaps no other premier cru vineyard in Burgundy as mythologised as Cros Parantoux. Of course one cannot deny the incredible wines of Les Amoureuses (in Chambolle Musigny) or even Clos St Jacques (in Gevrey Chambertin) but this little patch of vines adjacent to the Grand Cru Richebourg and once home to Etienne Camuzet’s Jerusalem Artichoke patch during WWII is now “one of the most sought-after vineyards, thanks to the legendary Henri Jayer who replanted the land in the early 1950s after it had lain fallow since phylloxera.” (Jasper Morris)

Though there are historical records and maps of the vineyard dated as far back as the 1820s, it wasn’t until the confident, promising local vigneron Henri Jayer discovered this terroir that it received much, if any attention.

Jayer acquired the first plots in 1951 from M.Roblot and set about replanting the vineyard in 1953. This was no easy task, as Henri himself once commented; “It is a thankless vineyard. You have to use explosives to blast a hole to use for a replacement vine.” Thankfully Jayer stuck to the task and over the next couple of decades he acquired further plots, buying his final parcel from Robert Arnoux’s sister in 1970, taking his ownership to 70% of the vineyard with the Meo-Camuzet family owning the rest. Domaine Meo-Camuzet owns the top end of the vineyard, while the Jayer family – now represented by Emmanuel Rouget – owns the two plots just above Les Richebourg.

It is important to note however that from the 1950s until the late 1980s Henri Jayer took care of all viticulture and winemaking for the entire vineyard. In 1985 Domaine Meo Camuzet began bottling their own Cros Parantoux, however it was still produced by Jayer until in 1989 Jean-Nicolas Meo finally took over the winemaking. At the same time, Jayer’s nephew Emmanuel Rouget began bottling his own Cros Parantoux from the family vines. Significantly, ‘Uncle Henri’ was a key adviser to both young, buccaneering winemakers. Nothing is ever simple in Burgundy though and between 1996 and 2001, while officially retired, Henri Jayer continued to bottle a small amount of Cros Parantoux under his own label, with 2001 the final vintage of this storied wine.

Since 2002 things have been a lot more simple with only two wines being produced from this vineyard; Emmanuel Rouget’s (from the old Jayer plots) circa 3000 bottles per year and Meo-Camuzet’s circa 1000 bottles per year.

While Rouget has generally stuck fairly close to the family recipe, Meo’s Cros Parantoux took a slightly different course between 1996 (following Jayer’s retirement) up to around 2006/2007, where during this period, Meo produced a much darker, more extracted interpretation of this terroir. Since then, Meo’s Cros Parantoux, while retaining the domaine’s signature minerality, has become a fabulous conduit for this unique terroir in a style more pleasing to purists and indeed followers of Jayer.

Whether made by the hand of Rouget or Meo, Cros Parantoux can be wine of intensity and grace, sometimes quite austere in youth but a wine that blossoms into one of Vosne Romanee’s most dazzling and hedonistic wines.

If you'd like more advice on what you should be drinking, please reach out to a member of the sales team at [email protected]