Wines

Nicolas-Jay

Jay Boberg and Juliette Boberg
Willamette Valley, Oregon

Featured:

Wednesday, May 4, 2022 Congress Has Heart Reception and Collectors Dinner
Friday, May 6, 2022 Heart’s Delight Trade Tasting
Saturday, May 7, 2022 Grand Tasting Reception

Nicolas-Jay is the story of a three-decade friendship between famed Burgundian winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo and visionary music entrepreneur Jay Boberg, and their shared love of Oregon Pinot Noir. It is also the story of their desire to build something lasting together, while creating a distinctive expression of great Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. At Nicolas-Jay, this is achieved by applying viticultural and winemaking experience gained from working with the grand crus of Burgundy to the finest grapes from Oregon.

Jean-Nicolas and Jay became friends in 1988, when Jean-Nicolas was studying abroad in the United States. Though Jean-Nicolas soon immersed himself in guiding his family’s renowned Domaine Méo-Camuzet, and Jay continued to build his own IRS Records into a seminal indie label, they stayed friends over the next quarter century. During this time, they also discovered a shared interest in the quality and potential of the Pinot Noirs from Oregon, which Jay has been enjoying since 1983, and Jean-Nicolas has been exploring since attending the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Willamette Valley in 1991.

In 2011, a visit to the Willamette Valley reignited Jay’s fascination with the region. It also inspired him to commit himself fully to his lifelong passion for wine. He approached Jean-Nicolas with the idea of starting a small winery in Oregon. After nearly a quarter century of making wine at Méo-Camuzet, Jean-Nicolas was intrigued and excited by the idea of taking what he’d learned from the grands and premiers crus of Burgundy, and applying it to a new region, a new climate, new soils and new vineyards. He was also excited at the prospect of collaborating with Jay to build something meaningful from scratch.
“We make the kind of wines we love to drink,” says Jay. “Elegant wines, with beautiful, complex aromatics and pure, lovely fruit—wines that evolve in the glass, and in the cellar. To achieve this, we start with the best vineyards, practice respectful farming, and strive to make our wines with sincerity. This means having good intentions as winemakers, and respecting the character of the wine.”