Jancis Robinson (19)

Vines aged 46 years. 24 hl/ha. Harvested 23–24 September. Bottled late March 2018. 868 dozen produced. Lightish ruby. Very pretty cherry fruit jumping from the glass and just a touch of wild herbs from the whole-bunch influence. Opens up to a more peppery lift, almost makes me want to sneeze. I’ve never taken snuff but I wonder if the revitalising effect is similar? There’s still all that tangy wild cherry on the palate but it is more severe than I expected from the nose, really corseted by the super-fine but strict tannins. Amazing power after such a pretty first impression. As with the Romanée-St-Vivant, the whole-bunch aroma – very hard to describe but it has a sort of fresh, herbal, dusty, woodland effect – grows in the glass. Darker on the finish, really sinewy and perfectly firm, compact, endless. (JH)

Jancis Robinson (19)

Vines aged 46 years. 24 hl/ha. Harvested 23–24 September. Bottled late March 2018. 868 dozen produced. Lightish ruby. Very pretty cherry fruit jumping from the glass and just a touch of wild herbs from the whole-bunch influence. Opens up to a more peppery lift, almost makes me want to sneeze. I’ve never taken snuff but I wonder if the revitalising effect is similar? There’s still all that tangy wild cherry on the palate but it is more severe than I expected from the nose, really corseted by the super-fine but strict tannins. Amazing power after such a pretty first impression. As with the Romanée-St-Vivant, the whole-bunch aroma – very hard to describe but it has a sort of fresh, herbal, dusty, woodland effect – grows in the glass. Darker on the finish, really sinewy and perfectly firm, compact, endless. (JH)

Vinous - Neal Martin (97)

The 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru is a fitting end to a vertical that several attendees voted wine of the night. It has a riveting bouquet, very harmonious with Earl-Grey-tinged red fruit, forest floor and hints of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate has exquisite balance and poise, a little powdery in texture with gentle grip. Layered dark berry fruit with hints of bay leaf and cola build towards the finish. Yes, it does need time, but I would not begrudge anyone giving into temptation in the near future. Tasted at the Richebourg vertical dinner in Taipei.

Vinous - Neal Martin (97)

The 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru is a fitting end to a vertical that several attendees voted wine of the night. It has a riveting bouquet, very harmonious with Earl-Grey-tinged red fruit, forest floor and hints of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate has exquisite balance and poise, a little powdery in texture with gentle grip. Layered dark berry fruit with hints of bay leaf and cola build towards the finish. Yes, it does need time, but I would not begrudge anyone giving into temptation in the near future. Tasted at the Richebourg vertical dinner in Taipei.

Vinous - Neal Martin (97)

The 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru is a fitting end to a vertical that several attendees voted wine of the night. It has a riveting bouquet, very harmonious with Earl-Grey-tinged red fruit, forest floor and hints of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate has exquisite balance and poise, a little powdery in texture with gentle grip. Layered dark berry fruit with hints of bay leaf and cola build towards the finish. Yes, it does need time, but I would not begrudge anyone giving into temptation in the near future. Tasted at the Richebourg vertical dinner in Taipei.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2019 Richebourg Grand Cru is a magical wine, even at this early stage, and it has amply realized all the potential it showed in barrel. Soaring from the glass with aromas of sweet wild berries, blood orange, Indian spices and rose petals, it's full-bodied, ample and velvety, with a sumptuous, enveloping core of vibrant fruit and a seamless, multidimensional profile. Revealing immense concentration, its chassis of perfectly ripe, refined tannins only makes itself felt on the finish, but its charm is deceptive, because this Richebourg is holding plenty in reserve for the future.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (98)

(5-Star) The same brilliant deep purple colour as the Romanée St-Vivant. The bouquet delivers extra depth, extra concentration of a deeper and richer fruit which has still retained a fresh element. A massive wine, almost Bordelais in its intensity, but not uncouth and still unquestionably en route to becoming a great bottle of Burgundy. Lifted at the finish, such suavity. Certainly, the fruit is ripe, even showing some sundried cherries, but the opulence is compelling not cloying. Drink from 2035-2050. Tasted Oct 2022.

At just under two hectares in size, this plot of land represents a rather insignificant micro-dot, producing a meagre 462 cases on average annually. Romanée-Conti is flanked on all sides by exceedingly grand and much larger Grands Crus, ranging from its mighty namesake La Romanée to the imperious Richebourg. From the sky, Romanée-Conti even looks to have been squeezed by its bulky neighbours into a perfect square sitting mid-slope with a barely-perceptible rise of 3-4 meters. 

 

The location of Romanée-Conti is one possible factor in its staggering excellence. Its tiny size sees it cover the absolute heart of the absolute best position in Vosne-Romanée. Its situation and gently sloping aspect ensure maximum exposure to daytime sunlight and heat - the grapes here generally ripen earlier than in its esteemed cousins which, in a cool climate such as Burgundy, enables the fruit to develop levels upon levels of flavour complexity whilst retaining acidity. Whilst the vineyard has occasionally been hit by hail, the great scourge of Burgundy, Aubert de Villaine has never once seen it blighted by frost or mineral deficiency. 

 

Those broaching their very first bottle of Romanée-Conti often make the mistake of forecasting the same qualities as other wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti but augmented. More of the power of Richebourg, more of the richness of La Tâche etc. This is a mistake. Entirely less dense and opulent than the others, Romanée-Conti is the platonic ideal of delicacy and intensity made manifest. The very finest and most elaborate tapestry weaves its way through your olfactory nerves, the bouquet of roses and tar fixes you like a blue eyed-stare. Romanée-Conti glides across one’s palate like Alexander positioning himself atop the fallen Darius’ throne - this wine is not interested in pleasing you, it wants its drinkers to bask in its glory.  

LaRVF (95)

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru 1997

Vinous (97)

Even at 14 years of age, the 2001 remains virile and imposing, which is quite rare as Romanée-Conti is so often an elusive, more sensual wine. The 2001, on the other hand, is a wine of transparency and energy, two of the signatures of the 2001s here, yet the aromas and flavors remain a bit on the dark side. Although the 2001 is strikingly beautiful today, it will only improve and transform over time, as this tasting amply shows.

Vinous (97)

Bright, deep red. Reticent, musky nose opens slowly to reveal blackberry, violet, wild herbs and spicy oak; in a rather feminine style and a showstopper. Juicy and penetrating but at the same time silky and sweet, offering an ineffable combination of red and dark berries, spices, flowers and minerals. Conveys an impression of volume and thickness without any obvious weight. Dusty tannins saturate the palate and shimmer on the unflagging finish. The combination of silkiness and vibrancy here is uncanny.

Wine Advocate (99)

Usually, choosing between La Tâche and Romanée-Conti is like choosing between your two favourite children. Not this year. The 2012 Romanée-Conti is one of the most spellbinding that I have tasted since I began 17 years ago. The bouquet is quite astonishing with brilliant delineation and focus, an almost disorientating sense of mineralité that soars from the glass and leaves you speechless. The palate is perfectly proportioned with a sensational line of acidity, brimming over with energy and frisson. This flirts with perfection and you know, one day it might actually achieve it. Just 350 cases produced.

Jancis Robinson (19)

Light to mid garnet. Deeply fruited on the nose, with the promise of both fragrance and superb freshness. A definite herbal/stemmy character on the surface, then along with that an unexpected floral note and a hint of red cherry sweetness. Gloriously fine in texture, layer upon layer of finesse so that it changes back and forth in the glass and builds to complexity and incredible length. As I imagine graphene: immensely fine but with great internal strength.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2016 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is a worthy successor to the profound 2015, wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries, violets, peony, dark chocolate, cinnamon and exotic spices. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and satiny, with an ineffable sense of completeness, searing concentration without weight, a vibrant, indeed animating line of acidity, and a long, expansive finish that concludes with a judicious touch of mouthwatering bitterness. Wines like this are the foundation of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's reputation.

Vinous (96)

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.

Burghound (99+)

This is arguably the most floral-inflected nose in the range and, somewhat unusually, it's just as spicy as the La Tâche despite being as cool and restrained as it always is at this early stage. The focused, intense and beautifully well-delineated flavors are an exercise in refined and focused power, all wrapped in intensely mineral-inflected, youthfully austere and superbly persistent finish where a hint of warmth slowly emerges. In much the same fashion as the La Tâche, this is compact, backward and very tightly coiled yet the Zen-like sense of harmony is very much present. I was knocked out by just how marvelous this is and while it's obviously much too early to be tossing around "one of the greatest ever" accolades, it's at least possible that the 2018 RC could well be a candidate, which is of course really saying something.

Decanter (100)

Picked at the same time as La Tâche on 17 September, Romanée-Conti is following a different arc of evolution. Tasted out of barrel, the wine was perfection itself. I remember being struck by the explosive nature of the aromas and their range from high-toned red fruit to darker black fruit and the shading delivered by notes of while herb, mineral, and earth. None of that has disappeared, but the ensemble is less expressively aromatic than it was from barrel. The wine seems to be going quiet, although on the palate the enormous extract, density and well-managed tannins are all still in evidence. It is certain it will be worth the wait.