x
  • Country ranking ?

    909
  • Producer ranking ?

    168
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Roast Duck Breast with Dried Cherry Sauc

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The Story

 “As if, in this square of earth, the gods had bequeathed us a memory of the fascinating vestige of a timeless perfection.” — Richard Olney. The wine of Prince de Conti, she is velvet, seduction and mystery. It is the most Proustian of all great wines.

 

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is without question the most famous estate in Burgundy and arguably the greatest, producing some of the best wines in the world. It is probably one of the most traditional wineries in France. Wines are produced in small quantities while the demand is huge. The domaine has 25 hectares of vineyards, all Grand Crus, including the jewel in the crown, the 1.8 hectare monopole of Romanée Conti.

Romanée-Conti, a vineyard of four and a half acres,was originally the property of the Abbey of St. Vivant. In 1760 Prince Conti acquired it against the competition of a famous collector of jewellery, Madame de Pompadour – the king’s minister against the king’s mistress. He withdrew it from the market and reserved it for his own dazzling social events. It was he who created the myth surrounding Romanée-Conti.

The price of this tiny, treasured vineyard was 80.000 livres, which in those days was worth a small kingdom. Reclaimed as property of the nation during the Revolution, the vineyard passed through the hands of several proprietors to an ancestor of the present owner for 14.000 gold pounds in 1868.

–We are the keeper of a certain philosophy of wine and, mainly, we are concerned by the perfection in details" assures Aubert de Villaine. 

 

Romanée-Conti lies on brown limestone soils 60 cm deep with a major clay component. Romanée-Saint-Vivant has similar but deeper (90 cm) soils. Higher up, La Romanée occupies a markedly sloping site (12%) and the soil texture is less clayey. La Tâche and La Grande Rue share brown limestone soils, rather shallow at the top end with deeper rendzinas lower down. The same is true for the Richebourg, depending on slope and aspect. The underlying rock is hard Premeaux limestone dating from the Jurassic (175 million years BC).

Lying between Flagey-Échezeaux (home of the ÉCHEZEAUX appellation) and Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée occupies a middle position in the Côte de Nuits. The vines grow at altitudes of 250 to 310 metres and face east or, in some cases, slightly south of east. Vosne-Romanée, the central jewel in the necklace of appellations which is the burgundian côte, is not content with holding a mere four aces but boasts a total of six Grands Crus, each one famous the world over. A thousand years ago, it was the Cluniac monks of Saint-Vivant de Vergy and the Cistercians of Cîteaux who first realised the value of these very special plots of land. 
One of these vineyards takes its name from Prince Conti who lost his heart to it in 1760. Romanée-Conti is one of the wonders ofthe world and has always been a singly-held entity. Next door to it, Romanée-Saint-Vivant recalls the medieval monastery of the Hautes-Côtes which is currently undergoing restoration and which is linked to it by its own path. La Romanée, La Tâche and La Grande Rue are also singly-held entities, as is Richebourg, whose mere name is enough to fill a glass.

 

These Grands Crus frequently give good results from long laying-down. As a general rule, they shouldn't be drunk under about ten years of age but sometimes they will be aged up to 20 or 30 years. Each appellation has its own distinct personality depending on its year of production and on the stage it has reached in its development. These flamboyant red wines fully express the subtlety and complexity of the Burgundian Pinot Noir grape. Their colour is a dark ruby turning crimson with age. Their wide-ranging bouquet is divided among small red and black fruits, violet, spices and, with time, underbrush. On the palate, this wine is well-defined with a powerful body. It is delicate, sensual, frank and full.

 

In addition to their powerful structure and exceptional longevity, these great wines develop tertiary aromas of truffle, underbrush, leather and fur. It goes without saying that strong-flavoured meats will do them justice : furred or feathered game, braised, in sauce, or simply grilled. Wild-fowl (eg Peking duck) or a nice cut of roast veal will be gently enveloped by the close-packed but elegant tannins of these mighty Pinot Noir wines.

Serving temperatures : 15 to 16 °C.

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Vintage 1982

The good spring weather gave rise to rapid fruit set, followed by a classic summer and a warm start to autumn. However, there was little green harvest at the time, so the resulting harvest was enormous. Pinot Noir is very sensitive to high production and, despite the ideal growing conditions, this affected the character of the vintage. Red wines were light and offered immediate drinking pleasure early in their life; whites did much better because Chardonnay is less sensitive to high cultivation levels. The best climates could still hold some surprises.

 

 

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Tasting note

color

Full

nose

Intense

recommend

Yes

taste

Balanced and Elegant

Written Notes

I used to drink a lot of Romanee Conti, as in RC from DRC, but it has been getting rarer to see them actually opened and drunk these days. A 1982 DRC Romanee Conti reminded me why this is the world’s most expensive wine. At the beginning of the dinner, we were having the La Tache versus RC conversation, and I remarked how La Tache is always better to drink at a younger age, because RC needs about 30 years to start hitting its sweet spot. The 1982 played the role of ‘exhibit A’ perfectly, and 1982 isn’t supposed to be a great vintage for red Burgundy. Jayer also excelled in 1982, showing that a great producer will make great wines every year…or at least 9 out of ten vintages . The RC had a great nose that exuded signature aromas. Autumn, musk, menthol, red fruit and honey all abounded. The wine was fuller than full and longer than long, and it was quite tropical, even possessing a hint of orange. Its nose was super complex, and its palate was elegant, chalky and dusty. There was Asian spice, tea and broth here. One could see the wisdom of age in the ’82; this was a man, not a boy. ‘Soooo good,’ I wrote. Even though it won’t get any better, and probably is a point less ultimately, it showed so well, and I just had to give it (96).
  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Satisfactory

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

16

Other wines from this producer

Bâtard-Montrachet

Corton-Charlemagne

Corton Grand Cru

Echézeaux

Grands Echézeaux

La Romanée-Conti Grand Cru

La Tâche

Les Gaudichots

Marc

Montrachet

Richebourg

Romanee Saint Vivant

Vosne Romanée

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault Blochet

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