A Magical Evening With Domaine de la Romanée-Conti - the Whites
By Patrick Qureshi, Marketing Manager at ShareWine
Tasting the wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is the ultimate dream for many wine enthusiasts. However, the bottles are almost unobtainable, not only due to their high price but also because their limited supply makes them incredibly rare. So, it was a tremendous surprise when a series of unexpected coincidences allowed a wine enthusiast like me to taste not just one but twelve wines from the legendary Domaine de la Romanée-Conti!
I’m not exaggerating when I call this a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' and I was quick to say YES! when the invitation arrived just 24 hours before the tasting. What an opportunity, and at the same time a unique opportunity to share the experience with like-minded wine enthusiasts here at ShareWine. Therefore, I arrived at the wine bar, tense with anticipation, notebook in hand, and ready to document the evening.
First a Bit of History
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is located in Vosne-Romanée north of the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges. For centuries, the vineyard was owned by the church, where the monks farmed the fields. In the year 1631, the vineyard was sold to the Croonembourg family, who named the vineyard la Romanée, and a century later the vineyard was bought by the Prince of Conti, who changed the name to la Romanée-Conti as we know it today.
In recent times, Romanée Conti has been run by the de Villaine family who inherited the vineyard at the end of the 19th century. In 1942, they sold half of the estate to the Leroy family, with whom they have shared the property ever since.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti produces wine from the best fields in the Vosne-Romanée municipality and is the sole owner of the grand cru fields La Romanée-Conti and La Tâche. In addition, parts of the fields Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux, Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Le Montrachet are owned.
Today, around 85,000 bottles are produced each year.
Loud HipHop in Burgundy Heaven
The evening's tasting took place at the trendy Freiheit Vinothek, a German wine bar in Ulm, located between Stuttgart and Munich. The evening's participants were a versatile mix of types and nationalities. What everyone had in common was the excitement and expectations for the evening's wines, and the mood quickly rose with the volume of the hiphop music blasting out of the speakers.
The official tasting program for the evening included these wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti:
Corton Charlemagne 2020
Montrachet 2018
Corton 2020
Vosne Romanée 1er Cru 2020
Echezeaux 2020
Grands Echezeaux 2020
Romanée St. Vivant 2020
Romanée St. Vivant 2019
La Tâche 2020
La Tâche 2017
Richebourg 2020
Richebourg 2017
The already impressive lineup became even more exciting when it was revealed that this would be a blind tasting with the wines from DRC matched against other wines. An exciting development that meant that we now had to taste a minimum of 24 wines instead of the 12 that had been announced.
The White Wines
First Set
A small Wagyu burger was served, and the first two wines of the evening made their arrival. The conversation at the table quickly died down, because by the scent of both wines it was clear that this was something big.
Wine A: Very light and fine expression, dry and mineral. It was clear that it was a big wine, but as if it didn't quite want to come out of the glass, and wasn't fully in bloom.
Wine B: This wine was everything the other one was not. The most amazing aroma rose from the glass and it felt like the music and the whole world stood still. This is white Burgundy at its best. Incredibly complex and full of flavors of honey and citrus fruit. This wine was everyone's favorite and absolutely amazing.
Wine A: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet 2018
Wine B: Pierre Girardin Montrachet 2018
Second Set
With the next set of wines, it quickly became clear from both the smell and taste that we had shifted gears. I correctly guessed Aligoté, which I in no way expected to taste this evening.
Wine A: Classic Aligoté characteristics and a different freshness than the previous glasses.
Wine B: Notably different, a little reductive, enormously refreshing and inviting, lots of green fruit, a delicious wine that you could easily drink a bottle of alone if the opportunity presented itself. A superb glass.
Wine A: Charles Lachaux Bourgogne Aligoté Les Champs d´Agent 2021
Wine B: Maison Glandien La Planéte Blanc 2021
Third Set
The third set was quite simply a magical experience that I will never forget, and something I already dream of tasting again. Here we were back in more familiar territory with the Chardonnay grape.
The wine was paired with a small, unspecified smoked cabbage dish that, unfortunately, had to be eaten without cutlery, which gave quite some challenges.
Wine A: From the first whiff, it was clear that this glass was hiding something fantastic, something heavenly and unforgettable. The smell made the hiphop music disappear and time stood still again. Such a fine, elegant and delicate wine filled with perfectly ripe fruit, citrus, good acidity and a delicious minerality, and a touch of saltiness. All elements and taste impressions in perfect balance. This wine had a lot to say and the aftertaste was extremely long and seductive.
Wine B: This glass also came out strong, and in no way deserved to be overshadowed by anyone. A slightly more seductive and interesting scent. The taste revealed more oak here, but in a nice and well-integrated way. Earthy notes and a little citrus peel. The taste was rich, voluminous, and also with a long and lively aftertaste. What a white wine!
Wine A: Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet 2020
Wine B: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Charlemagne 2020
The first part of the tasting was now complete and had already delivered significant surprises. The main topic being discussed was how the expectations for DRC's Montrachet 2018 had not been fulfilled. However, the evening was to offer more surprises, because on top of the six white wines, it was now time to taste the reds. Read along in part 2.