2017 Romanée-Conti, Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Burgundy
Critics reviews
The colour offers a gorgeous imperial purple of middling depth. The wine is sublime in the attack, deep roses here as well as the most sumptuous fruit, irrelevant between red and black, most astonishing finish except that we know it. All about the palate which is as regal as ever, just a question of scale. From a Taransaud barrel the colour was perhaps not so deep, the nose a little more expressive, with the same magical silky texture in the mouth again, a bit of whole bunch.
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (November 2018)
Once again there is evident restraint to the almost taciturn but still kaleidoscopically broad-ranging nose of wonderfully pure and fresh and spicy aromas that include plenty of floral influences on the red currant, cherry, sandalwood and rose petal. The silky and equally pure middle weight flavors possess excellent punch and a similar level of minerality on the focused, powerful, linear and impressively persistent finish that slowly fans out as it sits on the palate. In contrast to the flash of the La Tâche, this is Zen-like in its sense of harmony and focus. Like many of the DRC '17s, this should be approachable somewhat earlier than normal yet still be capable of reward 20+ years of cellaring..
Drink from 2037 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (January 2020)
The 2017 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru was picked on September 8 at 35hl/ha and bottled April 25–26 . It has a quintessential Romanée-Conti bouquet of pure, seductive red fruit (morello cherry, cranberry, raspberry), extremely well defined and focused, plus subtle sea spray/seaweed aromas; with continued aeration, I noticed just a faint touch of curry leaf in the background.
The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and very fine acidity. A discreet crescendo in intensity leads to a harmonious, lightly spiced and slightly more mineral-driven finish than the La Tâche. Yet I cannot help feeling that the La Tâche has a little more complexity than the Romanée-Conti, and perhaps a little more potential. Let’s see. 627 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in-bottle tasting in London.
Drink 2024 - 2050
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (January 2020)
Harvest took place on the morning of September 8.
The 2017 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is dense, ample and also ethereal, as only it can be. Once again, Romanée-Conti elicits thoughts of art forms like cubist paintings or jazz, where themes are implied but never expressly stated. Above all else Romanée-Conti is a Burgundy that engages all the senses. You want answers, but all you get back is more questions. The 2017 is powerful and quite closed initially, yet with some aeration hints of black cherry, lavender and exotic spice start to appear. A closing rush of baritone inflections give it a real sense of gravitas. It’s a shame very few people will ever be able to taste it.
Drink 2032 - 2057
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (March 2020)
627 cases produced.
Pale crimson. A certain hauteur here compared with La Tâche… Powerful briary nose that takes time to open up. But it certainly unfurls in the glass. Savoury rather than sweet on the nose. Fine and refined. Fine boned – very aristocratic and thoroughbred rather than the richness of La Tâche. Pure refinement.
Drink 2035 - 2060
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (January 2020)
Wafting from the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of dark wild berries, cassis, wilted rose petals, blood orange, exotic spices, licorice and coniferous forest floor, the 2017 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is full-bodied, satiny textured and multidimensional. It's just as powerful as this year's La Tâche but even more elegantly framed by filigree structure, concluding with an intensely sapid and penetratingly fragrant finish. Pristinely balanced, this young Romanée-Conti possesses huge reserves for the long haul despite its deceptively supple youthful appeal, and it will reward extended bottle age.
Drink 2033 - 2070
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (January 2020)
Romanée-Conti is, as ever, a unique expression of the vineyard. It is both more approachable and more powerful than La Tâche. There is a similar deep colour, but in place of restraint, there are pretty floral notes on the initial attack, followed by a seductive black cherry and mulberry fruit underscored with saline minerality. On the palate, impressive concentration is coupled with a supple, fine-grained texture and enough tannin to age the wine seemingly for several lifetimes. Bertrand de Villaine said the wine can be summed up in three words: 'It's. All. There.'
Drink 2035 - 2075
Charles Curtis MW, Decanter.com (June 2022)
About this WINE
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC)
Domaine de la Romanée Conti is co-owned by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families, the former successors to Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet who bought the vineyard of La Romanée Conti in 1869, the latter since acquiring the shares of other descendants of Duvault-Blochet in 1942. The domaine is today run by Aubert de Villaine. Many people in Burgundy just refer to 'DRC' as "the Domaine".
The domaine has 25 hectares of vineyards, all Grand Crus. As well as the 1.8 hectare monopole La Romanée Conti, the Domaine purchased its other monopole, La Tâche, in 1933, along with significant holdings in the grand crus of Richebourg, Romanée-St-Vivant, Grands Échezeaux, Échezeaux and Le Montrachet at various points in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Domaine is the largest owners of each of the red wine grand crus.
The wines are made by Alexandre Bernier, in succession to Bernard Noblet. Whole clusters are used (no destemming) with a long vatting time avoiding excesses of heat. Yields are mind-numbingly low and the winemaking is traditional and perfectionist. These are not merely among the most sumptuous wines of Burgundy but certainly the most stylish. Ancestor Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet was an advocate of harvesting late in order to ensure optimum ripeness, a philosophy to which his descendants adhere today.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
Vosne-Romanée
The small commune of Vosne-Romanée is the Côte de Nuits’ brightest star, producing the finest and most expensive Pinot Noir wines in the world.. Its wines have an extraordinary intensity of fruit which manages to combine power and finesse more magically than in any other part of the Côte d’Or. The best examples balance extraordinary depth and richness with elegance and breeding.
Situated just north of Nuits-St Georges, Vosne-Romanée boasts eight Grand Cru vineyards, three of which include the suffix Romanée, to which the village of Vosne appended its name in 1866. The famous La Romanée vineyard was formerly known as Le Cloux but was renamed in 1651, presumably after the Roman remains found nearby. In 1760 the property was bought by Prince de Conti, and subsequently became known as Romanée-Conti.Vosne is the home of the phenomenally fine wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; divine wines that are, as they say, not for everyone but for those who can afford them. The region also boasts some of the world’s most talented, quality-conscious and pioneering producers: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti of course, but also Henri Jayer, Lalou Bize-Leroy, René Engel, as well as the Grivot and Gros families, to name but a few.
Vosne-Romanée has the greatest concentration of top vineyards in the Côte d’Or, including the tiny Grand Crus of the astonishing La Romanée-Conti (a monopoly of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti producing about 600 cases a year), the classy, complex La Romanée (a monopoly of Vicomte Liger-Belair, but until 2002 bottled under Bouchard Père et Fils, producing a minuscule 300 cases or so a year) and the little-known La Grande Rue. As the name suggests, this runs up the side of the road out of Vosne. Originally a Premier Cru, it was rightly upgraded in 1992, although its rich, spicy, floral Pinots are yet to reach their real potential under Domaine Lamarche who hold it as a monopoly.
By convention the wines of neighbouring Flagey-Echézeaux are considered part of Vosne-Romanée. These include the large, very variable 30-hectare Echézeaux (divided between 84 different growers) and the more consistent, silky, intense, violet-scented Grands Echézeaux Grands Crus.
La Tâche is another monopoly of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. It is explosively seductive with a peerless finesse, and is almost as good as their legendary eponymous wine. Richebourg is one of Burgundy’s most voluptuous wines and is capable of challenging La Tâche in some years, while Romanée-St Vivant, which takes its name from the monastery of St Vivant built around 900AD in Vergy, has a lovely silky finesse but is slightly less powerful.
If that wasn’t enough, Vosne-Romanée also boasts some absolutely magnificent Premiers Crus headed by Clos des Réas, Les Malconsorts (just south of La Tâche, and arguably of Grand Cru quality) and Les Chaumes on the Nuits-St Georges side, Cros Parantoux (made famous by Henri Jayer), Les Beaux Monts and Les Suchots on the Flagey-Echézeaux border. The old maxim that ‘there are no common wines in Vosne-Romanée’ may not be strictly true, but it is not far off.
Drinking dates vary, but as a general rule of thumb Grand Crus are best drunk from at least 10 to 25 years, while Premier Crus can be enjoyed from 8 to 20 years, and village wines from 5 to 12 years.
There are no white wines produced in Vosne-Romanée.
- 99 hectares of village Vosne-Romanée.
- 56 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (14 in all). Foremost vineyards include Les Gaudichots, Les Malconsorts, Cros Parentoux, Les Suchots, Les Beauxmonts, En Orveaux and Les Reignots.
- 75 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards: Romanée-Conti, La Romanée, La Tache, Richebourg, Romanée St Vivant, La Grande Rue, Grands Echézeaux, Echézeaux.
- Recommended producers: Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Leroy, Cathiard, Engel, Rouget, Grivot, Liger Belair.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Romanée-Conti is, as ever, a unique expression of the vineyard. It is both more approachable and more powerful than La Tâche. There is a similar deep colour, but in place of restraint, there are pretty floral notes on the initial attack, followed by a seductive black cherry and mulberry fruit underscored with saline minerality. On the palate, impressive concentration is coupled with a supple, fine-grained texture and enough tannin to age the wine seemingly for several lifetimes. Bertrand de Villaine said the wine can be summed up in three words: 'It's. All. There.'
Drink 2035 - 2075
Charles Curtis MW, Decanter.com (June 2022)
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