Originally a hairdresser for many years, and hailing from southeastern Australia, Jane Eyre-Renard decided to immerse herself in the world of winemaking after developing a passion for it while working for a wine merchant in Melbourne.  She eventually left her native land in the pursuit of educating herself more on the subject.  She studied oenology and traveled to New Zealand and Germany to make wine, all while going back and forth to Burgundy, before finally settling in Beaune in 2004.  She trained with Chevrot, Thierry Matrot, and Dominique Lafon, after which she joined Chris Newman of Domaine Newman in 2006 whom she still assists today.  Gifted with a barrel from Newman, a €6,000 loan from a friend, and encouragement from Benjamin Leroux (renowned biodynamic winemaker from Beaune), Eyre began her own winemaking operation in 2011, purchasing grapes from Savigny, Gevrey, Aloxe-Corton (beginning in 2013), and a Grand Cru Corton-Renardes.

Ms. Eyre’s prefers the approach of minimal intervention when it comes to winemaking, and her style is elegant – fine, lightly oaked wines, with delicate fruit on the palate.

In 2021, Jane Eyre-Renard became the first woman (and first Australian) to win the coveted ‘Negociant of the Year’ award from La Revue du Vin de France.  This prestigious title recognizes the talent of independent winemakers who purchase grapes to make their own wine.

First Vintage: 2022

Grape Variety: Pinot Noir

Viticulture: High trained vines under lyre.

Location: This wine is produced from vines situated below Puligny and Meursault.

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Harvest: The grapes are hand picked into 12 kg cases, then sorted at the winery using a vibrating sorting table.  Eyre focuses on purchasing the best fruit she can and sorting it thoroughly so that nothing will need to be forced during winemaking.

Vinification: Minimal sulfur prior to fermentation (levels depend on the vintage), and minimal intervention during the vinification process.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Overview: The domaine where Jane Eyre sourced the fruit for the Beaune 1er Cru Cent Vignes was sold in 2020 and the new owner decided to keep all the fruit, but she was delighted to have found another Beaune 1er Cru to replace it – Les Avaux.

Location: The Avaux vineyard is located on the Pommard side of Beaune. Domaine Newman (where Jane Eyre worked for 13 years) owned a parcel of Clos des Avaux so she knows the area well. The wine was always one of her favorites at the domaine, and she is very pleased to find many similar characters in the wine made from this new parcel. The resulting wine from this plot is a finer wine than the Cent Vignes.

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Aging: Matured in 3 x 228 and 1 x 350 liter barrels, the latter one year old.

Alcohol: 13.0%

Production: 4.5 barrels

Winemaker Tasting Notes: “The nose is really perfumed; this is a fine, discreet Beaune with nonetheless a fair amount of fruit weight beneath.” JM

Plot: This wine is a blend of 2 plots located halfway up the hill in Comblanchien. Ms. Eyre has been producing wine from these plots since 2014.

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Harvest: The grapes are hand picked into 12 kg cases, then sorted at the winery using a vibrating sorting table.  Eyre focuses on purchasing the best fruit she can and sorting it thoroughly so that nothing will need to be forced during winemaking.

Vinification: Minimal sulfur prior to fermentation (levels depend on the vintage), and minimal intervention during the vinification process.

Alcohol: 14%

Grape Variety: Pinot Noir

Vinification: 70% whole bunch

Alcohol: 13.5%

Location: This wine is produced from the Labourons, La Madone, and Garenne plots.

Vinification: Vinified with all the stems over 10 days cuvaison.

Aging: In stainless steel.

Closure: Screwcap

Vines: 80-year-old vines, mass selection on the renowned Labourons area in Fleurie.

Grape Variety: Gamay

Harvest: The grapes are hand picked into 12 kg cases, then sorted at the winery using a vibrating sorting table. Eyre focuses on purchasing the best fruit she can and sorting it thoroughly so that nothing will need to be forced during winemaking.

Vinification: Minimal sulfur prior to fermentation (levels depend on the vintage), and minimal intervention during the vinification process.

Aging: Aged in 500-liter used barrels, 3 weeks on the skins.

Alcohol: 13%

Vines: This wine is produced from 35-55 year old vines planted on two hillside parcels: Combe du Dessus (in front of the Château de Chambertin), and En Champs (farther up the slope in front of the premier cru Champeaux).

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Harvest: The grapes are hand picked into 12 kg cases, then sorted at the winery using a vibrating sorting table.  Eyre focuses on purchasing the best fruit she can and sorting it thoroughly so that nothing will need to be forced during winemaking.

Vinification: Minimal sulfur prior to fermentation (levels depend on the vintage), and minimal intervention during the vinification process.

Alcohol: 13%

Location: The grower is the same as for the Gevrey-Chambertin village, and as he always likes to point out, his village vineyards are situated opposite Premier Cru vineyards. Les Corbeaux sits right next to Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru on the south side of the village.

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Vinification: 20% whole bunch vinification. The wine was racked once to tank and was bottled on the 16th November.

Aging: Matured in oak barrels. This is the only wine in 2021 that has any new oak – approximately 30%.

Production: 3.5 barrels

Winemaker Tasting Notes: “The power of the terroir of Gevrey is found in flavors of licorice and baked cherries. The wine is still restrained and needs time to open up. The palate is quite tight with hints of chocolate and toasted oak. The elegance of this wine belies its complexity and ability to age. These are characteristics I have always found in Domaine Newman’s Mazis Chambertin (my old day job).”

Alcohol: 13.0%

Overview: New to the range. The fruit comes from 2 parcels of old vines that are farmed organically.

First Vintage: 2021

Grape Variety: Gamay

Vinification: Given the cool growing season, Ms. Eyre decided to destem most of the fruit. She used 10% whole bunch to provide some more texture to what is traditionally one of the lighter Beaujolais crus.

Aging: Most of this wine was aged in stainless steel tank with 10% going into older barrels. Bottling in mid November.

Production: 5 barrels

Serving Suggestion: The wine is intended to be drunk young, and many people will find a slight chill to this wine helps to highlight the freshness and delicacy.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Note: Jane Eyre purchased 2 barrels at the Hospice Auction in March 2021. It is the first time she bought anything from this auction.

Location: This is a monopole owned by the Hospice. Exceptionally positioned between Les Fôrets and Les Saint Georges 1er Cru vineyards. They make 3 separate cuvées.

Age of the Vines: Fagon is made from 70 year old vines, the oldest part of the vineyard.

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Vinification: The grapes are 100% destemmed. The wine is moved into older oak to finish its barrel aging.

Tasting Notes: The wine has dark fruit notes with spice and concentration but isn’t a heavy wine given the warm conditions of the growing season.

Cellaring: This is definitely a wine to leave in the cellar for at least 5-15 years.

Alcohol: 14%

Note: Jane Eyre purchased 2 barrels at the Hospice Auction in March 2021. It is the first time she bought anything from this auction.

Location: Situated near the more famous vineyard of Murgers.

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Vinificaton: As with the Didiers, this wine was transferred from new oak into an older barrel.

Tasting Notes: This is a fresh wine with dark fruit and forest floor notes. A dense core of fruit and long tannins that are firm but silky.
A bit less showy in its youth than the Didiers, but will age very well.

Cellaring: Keep 8-15 years.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Terroir: The Santenay Blanc is from a single vineyard situated above the village. The altitude of the vineyard helps keep freshness and acidity in the fruit which is a great advantage in the hotter years.

First Vintage: 2021

Exposition: Southeast facing

Soil: Limestone, gravel

Grape Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Harvest: The fruit is handpicked and sorted.

Vinification: Whole bunch pressed. The juice is settled overnight to remove the heavy sediment and then transferred to barrel for fermentation.

Aging: The wine was racked once to tank and then fined and filtered before bottling at the end of August 2022. In 2021, there was roughly 6 barrel of varying sizes. One new barrel.

Production: About 6 barrels

Alcohol: 12.0%

Location: Aux Vergelesses is one of the best Premier Crus in Savigny-les-Beaune. The vineyard is located in the upper middle section on a steep, well-draining, eastern-facing slope that faces Mont Blanc.

Soil: Clay-limestone

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Average Age of the Vines: 25-50 years old

Vinification: 100% de-stemmed and no new oak. Racked and assembled into tank after harvest and bottled the 16th of November.

Tasting Notes: This is the cuvée Ms. Eyre started her negociant with in 2011. The wine is always a mix of delicate fruit aromas with spicy undertones and a brambly edge, with fine but firm tannins on the finish. Relatively approachable now, it will gain complexity with some time in the cellar.

Production: 4 barrels

Alcohol: 13.0%

Vines: After researching for 5 years in the Jura, Ms. Eyre selected a parcel of Chardonnay in the heart of the Arbois Vineyard. The vines are 60 years old and are grown biodynamically.

Grape Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Harvest: The grapes are hand picked into 12 kg cases, then sorted at the winery using a vibrating sorting table. Eyre focuses on purchasing the best fruit she can and sorting it thoroughly so that nothing will need to be forced during winemaking.

Vinification: The Chardonnay is vinified and aged in both oak barrel (500 litres) and stainless-steel tank for 18 months. Sulfur is not used, making it the most natural wine of her offering.

Alcohol: 12.5%