DRC

Affectionately nicknamed Conti Conti, Domaine de la Romanee Conti – Romanee Conti is the fabled, flagship wine of Domaine de la Romanee Conti.

Domaine de la Romanee Conti is the most prestigious wine estate in Burgundy, based in the commune of Vosne-Romanée and the producer of among the world's most iconic and extraordinary wines, and has been so for a long time.

Only grand cru wines are produced here and the Domaine is the exception to the law that states no grower in Burgundy may be named after an individual vineyard. Its wines are noted for their richness and longevity. Vines that would form the future of the domaine first appear in history in the first half of 13^th Century. Vineyard plots have shrunk and expanded as they moved from one custodian to another, passing variously through small holders, monastic orders and aristocracy. Until, in 1760, the Prince de Conti bought the lower part of La Romanee, marking the birth of what is sometimes simply referred to as the Domaine.

The generations responsible for the Domaine de la Romanee Conti change but the terroir remains. Today, the domaine is co-owned by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch family, whose discreet stewardship manifests in their conscious appreciation of patrimony and meticulous care given over to every vineyard and the unpretentious, almost humble buildings that house the cuverie, barrel cellar and public reception room. Minimum intervention underpins an enlightened sensitivity in the vineyards, which have been organic since the 1990s and have since, in parts, adopted biodynamic practices. Low yields and ripeness no matter what are the guiding principals in the interpretation of each plot.

The Grands Crus of La Romanee Conti all have one unifying commonality – they are all descended from the last un-grafted Pinot Noir vines of the Côte d’Or, the vines of the Romanée-Conti vineyard.

Following Phylloxera, a vine-eating insect from America that devastated European vineyards from the mid-19^th to early 20^th century, from the 1900s on grafting was the method of choice in defense against the pest. The source of these scions was La Romanee Conti, the vines of this 1.8 hectare plot were naturally low-yielding and gave small clusters of comparatively early-ripening fruit. To that day, the Domaine had practiced provignage, a type of layering, where the entire vine would be buried in the ground and its shoots left in the air that would eventually grow and replace the space left by the dead vine. This form of replenishment led, over the course of 100s of years, to a fair amount of genetic diversification, something for which Pinot Noir is itself particularly associated and is believed at least part-responsible for the noted diversity of styles from just two major wine grapes in the Cote d’Or, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Thus, La Romanee Conti yielded some 50 or 60 genetically different vines that are still used to re-stock the vineyards today.

Style

The wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are like no other. They are as a mosaic, of flavours, of scents, of textures and smells in a harmonious whole. Hedonistic, to an extent, but the salient characteristic is to capture what these remarkable vineyard plots have to give.

Vineyards: Romanee-Conti

1.80 ha (4.32 acres), average production: 450 cases, average age of vines: 52 years

The de Villaine and Leroy families acquired Romanee-Conti in 1850. However, the birth of the vineyard formerly known as Cros des Cloux came about in two stages; the renaming during the 17^th century, to which was appended the name Conti when the Prince de Conde (Conti) bought it in 1760; thus marking the birth of perhaps the most celebrated vineyard of all. The Prince wanted the finest possible wine and kept it back for he and his inner-most circle.

The vines lay untouched since pre-phyloxera days until their replanting in 1947-8, the first new vintage followed in 1952. Interestingly, Romanee-Conti, estate-bottled since 1850, ceased to be so from then until 1911. However, writers, poets and critics across the centuries have returned time and again to Romanee-Conti as the greatest vineyard in Burgundy.

The conscientious care shown to Romanee Conti is true of all the Domaine’s vineyards, nonetheless, the refined grace evident in Romanee-Conti sets it apart. This wine, so nuanced and extraordinary at each stage of its life in bottle, is as refined as it is intoxicating.

Domaine de la Romanee Conti at a glance

Village: Vosne Romanee.

Soils: a predominantly calcareous-clay mix that varies from vineyard to vineyard, as do the factors of depth and drainage. In Le Montrachet this mix is characterized by its high limestone content.

Climate: extreme continental where the slope and aspect are significant factors.

District: Côte d’Or.

Region: Côte de Nuits.

Owner: co-owned by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families.

Winemaker: Bernard Noblet.

Vinification and ageing: no de-stemming, a long vatting time, low yields and relatively late harvesting.

Production: 27.74ha. (68.52 acres) of the combined vineyards yields some approximately 7,000 cases on average per annum