The wines of Jayne Eyre, Burgundy
Elegant wines from an Australian ex-pat

Jane Eyre grew up in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. For 10 years, she cut hair in Melbourne, and one of her clients was the wife of Aussie wine critic Jeremy Oliver, which opened the door for her to go to work in Burgundy (she did vintage there in 1998). When she got back she met wine merchant Philip Rich and got a job at his Prince Wine Store. She started doing vintages at various wineries in Australia, New Zealand and Burgundy. Eventually she decided to move to Burgundy, which she did in 2004, and where she now works as a winemaker at Domaine Newman, as well as running her own micro-negociant operation (since 2011, she shares a winery with Dominique Lafon). These are lovely wines with a distinctive, nicely poised, lean house style. She doesn't over extract. 'You'll kill the beauty of Pinot by over-extracting it.'

She's good friends with Benjamin Leroux, who has helped her get fruit. But the price of grapes has gone up 40% since she started. On her trips back to Australia, she does a bit of winemaking with Bill Downie (a talented natural winemaker in Gippsland), where she gets to make a bit of Pinot.

Production of Jane's Burgundies is now around 20 barrels annually. These notes are all from bottled wines, and the prices indicated for a few of the wines are those from the Haisma/Nielsen/Recchione/Eyre offer from January 2017. UK agent is Liberty Wines.

2015s tasted January 2017 

Jane Eyre Côtes de Nuits Villages 2015 Burgundy, France
100% destemmed. Lovely depth and generosity here. Rich and sweet but well defined raspberry and cherry fruit. Lovely detail and spicy finesse here. Good structure and purity here. Lovely wine. 93/100

Jane Eyre Volnay 2015 Burgundy, France
This is such a pretty wine. 'It's a generous vintage,' says Jane. 'If the wine isn't pretty this year, it never will be.' 20% whole bunch, 25% new oak. Lovely generous, dense, textured cherry fruit with a slightly meaty quality, and fine spiciness. Lovely depth here, with such pure fruit. Very fine. 95/100

Jane Eyre Beaune 1er Cru Cents Vignes 2015 Burgundy, France
20% whole bunch, three used barrels. Jane just did three punch downs, then didn't touch it. Very fresh and detailed with floral cherry fruit. Some raspberry grip on the palate. Structured and fine with some firmness, but also finesse. Lovely purity. 94/100 (£32.50)

Jane Eyre Gevrey Chambertin 2015 Burgundy, France
20% whole bunch, 20% new oak. Firm and fresh with floral raspberry fruit and a touch of herbiness. Supple and pure with appealing raspberry and cherry fruit on the palate, showing precision and elegance. Dense with nice focus, and this has a stern side, too. 94/100

Jane Eyre Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux 2015 Burgundy, France
This is new for Jane this year, and it's a plot right next to Mazis. 20% whole bunch, 40% new oak. This has a savoury, spicy, savoury edge to the floral raspberry fruit nose. The oak is making its presence felt. Structured, dense palate with some warmth and spice. There's elegance here but it needs time for the oak to integrate. 93/100 (£58)

Notes from January 2016

Jane Eyre Côtes de Nuits Villages 2014 Burgundy, France
Lively, bright and focused with nice fresh cherries and plums. Lovely acidity. Bright raspberry fruit with good acid. 93/100

Jane Eyre Volnay 2014 Burgundy, France
Lively, bright and focused with lovely purity. Very fine and expressive with pure cherry fruit. Expressive and stylish with nice acidity. 94/100

Jane Eyre Gevrey Chambertin 2014 Burgundy, France
Floral, violet cherry fruit nose. Lovely elegant, supple wine with lovely purity and finesse. 94/100

Jane Eyre Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses 2014 Burgundy, France
Very fresh and expressive. Grippy with raspberry and cherry fruit. Nice density but still bright with a bit of structure. 94/100

Jane Eyre Corton-Renardes Grand Cru 2014 Burgundy, France
Very fine and expressive and pure. Lovely balance here with elegant, fine fruit and structure. Superb wine. 95/100

Older notes from January 2015

Jane Ryre Aloxe-Corton 2013 Burgundy, France
12.5% alcohol. Very bright and fresh with pure red cherry fruit, some grippy tannins and keep acidity, as well as a peppery edge. Vivid with bright linear fruit. Lovely purity here, this is a lean, grippy wine that needs some time. 90/100

Jane Eyre Volnay 2013 Burgundy, France
13% alcohol. Lovely floral, pure red cherry fruit with some  taut herby notes and fine spices. The palate is fresh and vivid with red cherry and plum fruit. Linear and direct with keen acidity, but there's also a generosity to the fruit and a silky texture. A fresh vivid wine: give it time. 92/100

Jane Eyre Gevrey Chambertin 2013 Burgundy, France
13% alcohol. Very tight and fresh with vibrant redcurrant and raspberry nose with some subtle herbal hints. Juicy, focused and bright on the palate with nice aromatics emerging after a while in the glass. Very pure, floral cherry fruit. The palate is fresh with lovely pure red cherries and raspberries and amazing precision of flavour. Linear and structured with good acidity and a bright fruit core. 93/100

Jane Eyre Corton-Renardes Grand Cru 2013 Burgundy, France
13% alcohol. Quite taut but ripe with fresh red cherry and raspberry fruit, and also a bit of spicy warmth, hints of black fruits and subtle autumnal notes. The tannins here have amazing balance and refinement: they are present, but don't intrude at all, adding a baseline structure of real finesse. Subtle influence of roast coffee and spice in the background. Nice ripeness but still very taut and precise. 95/100

See also:

Visiting Burgundy

Wines tasted 01/17 and 01/15  
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