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Romanée Conti 1990

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Burgundy, France

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Burgundy France
  • 100
    Points
  • The 70 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 26 Pros of
    26 recommend
    this wine
650 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    57

  • Producer ranking ?

    7

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    now to 2040

  • Food Pairing

    Spiced Squabs with Onion Compote

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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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 mos...

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Vintage 1990

1990 VINTAGE in Burgundy

This is probably the vintage of reference for many people in Burgundy. Exceptional climatic conditions allowed an abundant crop to mature perfectly and yield some most sensational wines in both red and white. The white wines have maintained their elegant aromas and freshness which has made them even more appealing, whilst the reds are concentrated and well built with tannins which remain firm but smooth. To be enjoy...

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995
26 944€ +8.6% 24 808€ +33.0% 18 650€ +26.1% 14 790€ -11.1% 16 644€ +18.7% 14 022€ +2.1% 13 734€ +14.7% 11 972€ +0.7% 11 890€ +128.7% 5 200€ +89.5% 2 744€ +187.6% 954€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Deep, Purple and Bright

ending

Long, Lingering and Pure

flavors

Cherry, Plum, Blackberry, Cranberry, Licorice and Voluptuous

nose

Intense, Refined, Complex and Ripe

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Warming, Medium tannin, Well-structured, Perfectly balanced, Concentrated, Developing, Medium-bodied, Aggressive, Elegant, Rich, Firm, Sweet and Silky tannins

Verdict

Masterpiece and Impressive

Written Notes

The 1990 was once again a rock star. Twice in one year, 2022 thank you 🙏 This will be the benchmark RC against which all others will be judged.  Wow again - so concentrated, this was another level of richness from everything else that preceded.  It almost had that signature 1947 Cheval motor oil.  Smoky, nutty, rich and decadent, the 1990 had a super strong finish with layers of whips and chains. ‘Wine of the tasting,’ ‘ethereal, weightless, floating in the clouds,’ ‘has everything’ all came from the giddy crowd.  Give it up for the 1990 RC!!!! (99+pts)

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  • 99p
This picturesque parcel of La Romanée-Conti was blessed, within the whole of Burgundy with an astonishing vintage. Although the vignerons were hoping for the best they feared the worst when the vintage faced the unexpectably warm winter with over 20 degrees Celsius in February and March engouraging the vegetative growth of the vines. The fear of the vignerons came true when the cool and rainy weather took place from April to June delaying the flowering. The fruit set was very uneven reducing the crop size. Then came the hot summer bringing hope back to vignerons until the long dry season threatened the vines with drought. The early ripening saved the vintage and the super concentrated grapes concluded an exceptional vintage. Interestingly enough for La Romanée-Conti this vintage was not only top vintage for quality but also a record one in terms of quantity for two decades. There were 7,446 bottles made. Excellent-looking bottle. Decanted for two hours. Deep purple colour, with orange and ruby reflections. Even after two hours’ decanting, the wine was slightly closed on the nose, however with some swirling, a little bit of patience everything opened up and blossomed into the most multifaceted and intense bouquet one could long for. Enormous structure but in such a fine balance that despite its substance, the wine shows great elegance and class. On the palate it was marvellously sweet and tasty with plum, strawberry and cherry aromas and flavours that linger indefinitely. This full-bodied and intense wine can be thought of as nothing but a masterpiece.
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  • 98p

Ethereal is the word here. It is weightless and endless on both the nose and palate. Lovely dark garnet with a ruby hue. The aromas show pure strawberry, rose petal, candied oranges and lavender. I could go on and on. It’s full-bodied with very fine tannins and a wonderful and energetic finish. Surreal in many ways. A benchmark. Drink or hold.

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  • 100p

“...a breathtaking panoply of Asian spices, exotic fruit aromas and a touch of earth followed by rich, lush, al- most opulent flavors that melt in the mouth and coat the palate with a layer of velvet on the fantastically long fin- ish. This is a dramatic wine in every sense of the word yet it’s not at all showy but rather discreet and understated inner power and purity of expression if you ever have the chance, don’t miss it!...”(99pts BH)

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  • 99p

The 1990 Romanee-Conti should ultimately be the most compelling and complex of the DRC wines. Normally it possesses a lighter color than either La Tache or Richebourg, but in 1990 it boasts a surprisingly saturated color that is the equal of La Tache and Richebourg. The nose offers up sweet, clove, cinnamon, and blackberry aromas intermingled with toasty, smoky new oak. Lavishly rich and full-bodied, with abundant tannins, this profound, surprisingly large-scaled, tannic wine boasts more muscle than usual

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  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Serious

Glass time

1h

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

Inside Information

Parker 98p/ The 1990 Romanee-Conti should ultimately be the most compelling and complex of the DRC wines. Normally it possesses a lighter color than either La Tache or Richebourg, but in 1990 it boasts a surprisingly saturated color that is the equal of La Tache and Richebourg. The nose offers up sweet, clove, cinnamon, and blackberry aromas intermingled with toasty, smoky new oak. Lavishly rich and full-bodied, with abundant tannins, this profound, surprisingly large-scaled, tannic wine boasts more muscle than usual. Let's hope that the billionaires that buy it have as much taste as money. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025 . 

The DRC 1990s, all of which were bottled in April/May, are among the deepest colored wines from this domaine that I have tasted in the last decade. Moreover, they are firmly structured, with significant tannins from both the vintage and from the aging in 100% new oak barrels. For the fortunate few who have had the discretionary income to afford the other great vintages of the DRC from the eighties, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1989, the question is - are the 1990s superior? I am not sure they are any better than the 1980s, 1985, and 1988s, but they undoubtedly represent a classic, concentrated, long-lived style of wine. Moreover, all of these wines should have a more graceful evolution and broader window of drinkability than the tannic 1988s, as well as potentially greater longevity than the succulent and opulent 1985s. All of these offerings are outstanding, with that tell-tale complex, exotic fragrance that the DRC routinely achieves.

NOTE: Prices for the 1990s had not been released (the wines will arrive in early 1993). I have inserted the same prices asked for the 1989 vintage as an approximation of what these wines will fetch.

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