Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
About Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (aka DRC) is an iconic producer – and has maintained this position for many decades. DRC has a fascinating and lengthy history spanning the ownership of its namesake vineyard by the Bourbon Prince of Conti, through the French Revolution to the current owner of the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families. Managing 25 hectares of exclusively Grand Cru vineyards, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is the sole Burgundian estate to bottle nothing other than the pinnacle of the region’s classification system.
Chief amongst all Burgundy producers to claim holdings in most of the magical terroir in Vosne-Romanée, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is famously hailed as the King of Vosne-Romanée. Possessing only the best vineyard in the region, two of their most sought after red wines being Romanée-Conti and La Tâche, both of which are monopole holdings and frequently amongst the best offerings in Burgundy.
Apart from Romanée-Conti and La Tâche, DRC also produces four other Grand Cru wines from Vosne-Romanée at ultra-limited quantity each year: Romanée St-Vivant Grand Cru (approx. 1,500 cases/year), Richebourg Grand Cru (approx. 1,000 cases/year), Échezeaux Grand Cru (approx. 1,340 cases/year) and Grand Échezeaux Grand Cru (approx. 1,150 cases/year).
The style of the DRC wines is rich, intense, silky, transparent and quite light on the aromatic palate with more red than dark nuances. The use of whole clusters gives a very rich aromatic profile, and a very high complexity as the wine ages. All the wines are very reflective of the terroir, and the difference in terroir is very clear even when the wines are very young and powerful. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti normally use 100% new oak on the wines.
| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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Burgundy | 1 | - |
Inc. VAT
£4,681.69 |
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Burgundy | 1 | 94 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£9,347.29 |
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Vinous (94)I have been fortunate to taste the 1971 Grands Echézeaux four times now (always a privilege when it is your birth year). This 1971 bottle is as good as the best I have come across despite some turbidity in the glass. Yet the bouquet is divine and ethereal with vestiges of red cherry and strawberry, wild heather (again - just like previous bottles) and pressed flowers. The palate is fully mature with tart red fruit, brown spice and that telltale sense of transparency towards the finish. It is not a dense or powerful wine and I suspect it was better around 20 years of age. But it has aged gracefully and maintained such exceptional balance and poise that you cannot help surrendering to its charms. Tasted at a private lunch at Howard's Gourmet. |
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Burgundy | 1 | 94+ (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£7,480.01 |
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Vinous (94+)Dark cherry, plum, cloves and menthol are some of the many notes that wrap around the palate in the 2011 Grands-Échézeaux. This is an especially dark, somber Grands-Échézeaux. Today the tannins are quite firm and the wine is holding back much of its potential, but it possesses superb depth that will only fully emerge after a number of years in the cellar. Sweet tobacco, savory herbs and leather wrap around a finish infused with gravitas. |
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Burgundy | 1 | 95 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£9,110.81 |
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Vinous (95)The 2015 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru was cropped at 30.42hl/ha on 11 and 12 September. It has a glorious bouquet that springs from the glass: Morello cherries, crushed strawberry, crushed stone, just a hint of bay leaf all beautifully defined and with a little more horsepower than the Echézeaux. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry and comes across more saline in the mouth than its “little brother”. There is a pinch of spice that becomes more prominent with aeration and then against my expectations, it becomes understated and quite linear on the finish. One of the more backward 2015s from the domaine this year, I would cellar this for four or five years at least; a Grands Echézeaux that is full of secrets. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in bottle tasting in London. |
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Burgundy | 1 | 96 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£8,179.61 |
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Vinous (96)The 2017 Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru is a pretty big step up in this range, both in terms of depth, power and energy. Here the flavors are dark, while there is quite a bit of tannin lurking beneath. Black cherry, graphite, leather, smoke, spice and menthol infuse the 2017 with tons of virile, somber character. Readers will have to be very patient. A whole range of sepia-toned aromas and flavors shrouded in tannin add depth to an imposing Grands-Echézeaux built for cellaring. Harvest was on September 12. |
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| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Burgundy | 1 | - |
In Bond
£3,895.00 |
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|
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Burgundy | 1 | 94 (VN) |
In Bond
£7,783.00 |
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Vinous (94)I have been fortunate to taste the 1971 Grands Echézeaux four times now (always a privilege when it is your birth year). This 1971 bottle is as good as the best I have come across despite some turbidity in the glass. Yet the bouquet is divine and ethereal with vestiges of red cherry and strawberry, wild heather (again - just like previous bottles) and pressed flowers. The palate is fully mature with tart red fruit, brown spice and that telltale sense of transparency towards the finish. It is not a dense or powerful wine and I suspect it was better around 20 years of age. But it has aged gracefully and maintained such exceptional balance and poise that you cannot help surrendering to its charms. Tasted at a private lunch at Howard's Gourmet. |
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|
|
Burgundy | 1 | 94+ (VN) |
In Bond
£6,228.00 |
|||||
Vinous (94+)Dark cherry, plum, cloves and menthol are some of the many notes that wrap around the palate in the 2011 Grands-Échézeaux. This is an especially dark, somber Grands-Échézeaux. Today the tannins are quite firm and the wine is holding back much of its potential, but it possesses superb depth that will only fully emerge after a number of years in the cellar. Sweet tobacco, savory herbs and leather wrap around a finish infused with gravitas. |
|||||||||
|
|
Burgundy | 1 | 95 (VN) |
In Bond
£7,587.00 |
|||||
Vinous (95)The 2015 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru was cropped at 30.42hl/ha on 11 and 12 September. It has a glorious bouquet that springs from the glass: Morello cherries, crushed strawberry, crushed stone, just a hint of bay leaf all beautifully defined and with a little more horsepower than the Echézeaux. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry and comes across more saline in the mouth than its “little brother”. There is a pinch of spice that becomes more prominent with aeration and then against my expectations, it becomes understated and quite linear on the finish. One of the more backward 2015s from the domaine this year, I would cellar this for four or five years at least; a Grands Echézeaux that is full of secrets. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in bottle tasting in London. |
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|
|
Burgundy | 1 | 96 (VN) |
In Bond
£6,811.00 |
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Vinous (96)The 2017 Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru is a pretty big step up in this range, both in terms of depth, power and energy. Here the flavors are dark, while there is quite a bit of tannin lurking beneath. Black cherry, graphite, leather, smoke, spice and menthol infuse the 2017 with tons of virile, somber character. Readers will have to be very patient. A whole range of sepia-toned aromas and flavors shrouded in tannin add depth to an imposing Grands-Echézeaux built for cellaring. Harvest was on September 12. |
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