It would be impossible to talk about Pinot Noir or Domaine Emmanuel Rouget without mentioning Henri Jayer. For without Jayer, there would almost certainly be no Roguet. Brought temporarily into his uncle Jayer’s vineyard, tractor engineer Emmanuel fell in love with winemaking and never looked back. The rest, as they say, is history.

But rewind to 1976 when a young Rouget began working alongside his uncle in the fields. Together they gradually increased the holdings of the Jayer terroir, which was primarily located in Flagey-Echezeaux, adding more parcels of land in Cote de Nuits, including Savigny-les-Beaune, and Nuit-St-Georges. By 1996 Jayer took his “official” retirement (“official” in inverted commas as despite signing his land over to his nephew, Jayer carried on producing wine until his death in 2006).

Jayer’s (and Rouget’s) last 1,064 remaining bottles were sold at auction in 2018, fetching almost €30m. Yet, compared to his uncle’s success, wines produced under the Rouget eponymous label are still considered “one of Burgundy’s best-kept secrets” (according to critics Martin and Galloni). Rouget today produces wines that are distinctly rich and intense. Spurred on by his uncle’s respect for terroir and perfectionism, Rouget says, “It all starts with the vine. Utmost plant care, a lot of observation. No concessions, absolute rigor. Trust the soil, trust the plants, escort them until harvest. There really is no secret here: to produce top-class wines, you need perfect grapes!”. Pinot Noir lovers, take note.

Of the ten wines Emmanuel Rouget produces in minuscule quantities, these words ring particularly true when considering the Echezeaux Grand Cru. Consider the 2010 for example: with an aggregate score of 92, we have seen growth of over 60% from 2017-2019. His Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux Monts supplies are shrinking as average prices increase more than 25% for the past two years. His 2016 Vosne-Romanee Cros Parantoux has become one of the most sought after and expensive wines in the world, selling for over €40,000 a case.