Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is widely considered to be among the world's greatest wine producers, if not the best and has, for many decades, been Burgundy’s most famous Domaine, known purely by the initials DRC. DRC bottles are among the worlds’ rarest, most renowned and most highly sought-after. It takes its name from the Domaine's most famous vineyard, Romanée-Conti Grand Cru. The boundaries of this vineyard were established back in the 16th century, and over time, its name changed from Cros des Cloux, to La Romanée, to Romanée-Conti, after its purchase by King Louis XV’s cousin, the Prince de Conti. Domaine de La Romanée-Conti is the proud owner of the most famous Grands Crus on the Côte d’Or, a maker of richly complex, long-lasting ethereal wines produced from their almost 28 hectares of vineyards. DRC produces stunning wines that manage to combine finesse with power and grace with intensity. The greatly missed, Michael Broadbent MW used to describe their wines as “a fist of iron in a velvet glove” and having a “peacock’s tail” of a finish, meaning that the flavours and aromas open up with time in the mouth to reveal complex nuances which are extremely long lasting with a fragrant aftertaste. I have had the pleasure of tasting the wines of DRC on many occasions and I can attest to the magical nature of their wines.For many people Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is “The Domaine” in Burgundy and the pinnacle for Burgundy-lovers. The Domaine owns two famous monopoles; the 1.81 hectares of Romanée Conti and 6.06 hectares of La Tâche. Additionally DRC owns nearly half of Richebourg, over half of Romanée-Saint-Vivant over a third of Grands Echézeaux and significant holdings in Echézeaux, 0.68 hectares of Le Montrachet, and since 2009 has produced a Corton Grand Cru. Occasionally the Domaine produces a Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Cuvée Duvault-Blochet from younger vines in their Grand Cru vineyards. DRC also own a minuscule section of Bâtard-Montrachet, which is not commercialised so only if you are ever lucky enough to visit DRC will you get a taste of this extraordinarily rare white Burgundy. The Domaine has been at the forefront of viticultural developments and has adopted biodynamic approaches, helping the vines in building up natural resistance to pests and diseases. The winemaking at the Domaine is directed by Alexandre Bernier and his team, following the retirement of Bernard Noblet in 2018, who was their winemaker and cellarmaster at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti since the 1986 vintage. There is no disputing the quality of the wines, particularly their highly sought-after longest-lived, greatly-prized Romanée-Conti Grand Cru. This is very scarce, as on average only 450 cases are produced each vintage, and some vintages only around 3000 bottles. Vagaries like the spring frosts that vineyards in France have suffered in 2021 can significantly reduce the yields. As the late great, Michael Broadbent M.W. stated “It never fails to astonish me that the strips of vines which stretch only a modest number of meters up the very gentle slopes from the outskirts of an equally modest, indeed remarkably rural rambling village of Vosne, are capable of producing wines of such world class quality”. This superlative wine develops extraordinary complexity with bottle age, combining a silky texture with concentration, power and purity of fruit and an incredible persistence of flavour.Next in the pecking order comes the La Tâche, which in some vintages can match the longevity of Romanée-Conti, but tends to be more approachable, a lighter and more delicately perfumed and fragrant style. La Tâche is only separated from Romanée-Conti by a narrow track and it is amazing that these wines often have a completely different character from the same vintage. Richebourg is powerful, rich and complex with an earthier and spicier character. Romanée-Saint-Vivant is delicate, elegant and floral and can be rated qualitatively alongside Grands-Echézeaux in terms of power and persistence. Grands-Echézeaux is considered a finer, fleshier and slightly more intense wine than the suppler tannic structure of Echézeaux. And finally Corton (from further south in the Côte de Beaune whereas the others are from the northerly Côte de Nuits) is often more structured and tannic, requiring time to evolve in bottle.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Corton 2010
1 magnum per lot
Details
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Corton 2010
Grand Cru, Côte de Beaune
1 magnum per lot
Grand Cru, Côte de Beaune
1 magnum per lot
Brought to you by
Michelle Chan（陳文珣）
VP, Head of Wine and Spirits, Asia Pacific