| Burgundy Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Comte Georges de Vogüé, Georges Roumier |
Domaine de la Romanée Conti
In 1232, the Abbey of Saint Vivant in Vosne acquired 1.8 hectares of vineyard. In 1631 it was bought by the de
Croonembourg family, who renamed it Romanée for reasons unknown. At the same time they acquired the
adjacent vineyeard of La Tâche. In 1760, André de Croonembourg decided to sell the domaine and it became the
subject of a bidding war between Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France, and her bitter enemy
Louis François Ier de Bourbon, prince de Conti. The prince won, paying the massive sum of 8000 livres, and the
vineyard became known as Romanée-Conti. But come the Revolution, the prince's land was seized and
auctioned off. The Romanée-Conti vineyard was bought by Nicolas Defer de la Nouerre, who in 1819 sold it to
Julien Ouvrard for 78,000 francs. In 1869 it was bought by Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet, who went on to build
the domaine we know today with the acquisition of the holdings in Échezeaux, Grands Échezeaux and
Richebourg. The 9.43 hectares of Romanée Saint-Vivant were bought in 1791 by Nicolas-Joseph Marey, son-in-
law of the geometrist Gaspard Monge. The Marey-Monge family sold off part of their holdings to the Latour family
in 1898, leased the remaining 5.28 hectares to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in 1966, and finally sold to the
domaine in 1988. This last deal was financed by the sale and leaseback of the domaine's holdings in Échezeaux
and some in Grands Échezeaux. As one of Napoleon's generals, Louis Liger-Belair was well-placed to acquire
good vineyards. And from 1815 this he did - with his son Louis-Charles, he amassed 40 hectares of prime land,
including all of La Tâche. By 1933 this had declined to 24 hectares and family squabbles over an inheritance led
to the Liger-Belair's sale of La Tâche to the domaine. The domaine already owned 4 hectares of the adjacent Les
Gaudichots vineyard from the Duvault-Blochet days, and after much legal wrangling in 1936 this and La Tâche,
were combined into a single Grand cru monopole of La Tâche.
Of its flagship wine produced from the Romanée-Conti vineyard, the wine critic Clive Coates has stated,
“The scarcest, most expensive - and frequently the best - wine in the world ...
... This is the purest, most aristocratic and most intense example of Pinot Noir you could possibly imagine. Not
only nectar: a yardstick with which to judge all other Burgundies.[1]”
The vineyards are grouped around the village of Vosne-Romanée, on well drained slopes facing east and south-
east. The soil is iron-rich limestone on a base of rock and marl, with vines lying around 800 ft (240 m) above sea
level. The average age of the vines is very high - around 44 years - and the vineyards are cultivated organically.
Soil supplements are limited to compost made from crushed vine roots, grape skins and residues from
fermentation. To avoid compacting the soil with the use of tractors, horses were re-introduced to cultivate the
vineyards of Romanée-Conti and Le Montrachet. Five hectares in La Tâche and Grands Echézeaux are now
being cultivated biodynamically whereby the individual vines are treated with special natural preparations and
according to a strict lunar timetable. Yields are very low at an average of 25 hl/ha (the Grand Cru rendement is 35
hl/ha). In other words, it takes the produce of three vines to produce one bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
Yields are kept low through severe pruning early in the season, and green pruning (éclaircissage / vendange en
vert) in July/August, with a 'passage de nettoyage' completed immediately before harvest, to cut out substandard
grapes. At harvest time, the grapes are sorted into small baskets and individually examined for health on triage
tables, before the winemaking begins.
In 1232, the Abbey of Saint Vivant in Vosne acquired 1.8 hectares of vineyard. In 1631 it was bought by the de
Croonembourg family, who renamed it Romanée for reasons unknown. At the same time they acquired the
adjacent vineyeard of La Tâche. In 1760, André de Croonembourg decided to sell the domaine and it became the
subject of a bidding war between Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France, and her bitter enemy
Louis François Ier de Bourbon, prince de Conti. The prince won, paying the massive sum of 8000 livres, and the
vineyard became known as Romanée-Conti. But come the Revolution, the prince's land was seized and
auctioned off. The Romanée-Conti vineyard was bought by Nicolas Defer de la Nouerre, who in 1819 sold it to
Julien Ouvrard for 78,000 francs. In 1869 it was bought by Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet, who went on to build
the domaine we know today with the acquisition of the holdings in Échezeaux, Grands Échezeaux and
Richebourg. The 9.43 hectares of Romanée Saint-Vivant were bought in 1791 by Nicolas-Joseph Marey, son-in-
law of the geometrist Gaspard Monge. The Marey-Monge family sold off part of their holdings to the Latour family
in 1898, leased the remaining 5.28 hectares to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in 1966, and finally sold to the
domaine in 1988. This last deal was financed by the sale and leaseback of the domaine's holdings in Échezeaux
and some in Grands Échezeaux. As one of Napoleon's generals, Louis Liger-Belair was well-placed to acquire
good vineyards. And from 1815 this he did - with his son Louis-Charles, he amassed 40 hectares of prime land,
including all of La Tâche. By 1933 this had declined to 24 hectares and family squabbles over an inheritance led
to the Liger-Belair's sale of La Tâche to the domaine. The domaine already owned 4 hectares of the adjacent Les
Gaudichots vineyard from the Duvault-Blochet days, and after much legal wrangling in 1936 this and La Tâche,
were combined into a single Grand cru monopole of La Tâche.
Of its flagship wine produced from the Romanée-Conti vineyard, the wine critic Clive Coates has stated,
“The scarcest, most expensive - and frequently the best - wine in the world ...
... This is the purest, most aristocratic and most intense example of Pinot Noir you could possibly imagine. Not
only nectar: a yardstick with which to judge all other Burgundies.[1]”
The vineyards are grouped around the village of Vosne-Romanée, on well drained slopes facing east and south-
east. The soil is iron-rich limestone on a base of rock and marl, with vines lying around 800 ft (240 m) above sea
level. The average age of the vines is very high - around 44 years - and the vineyards are cultivated organically.
Soil supplements are limited to compost made from crushed vine roots, grape skins and residues from
fermentation. To avoid compacting the soil with the use of tractors, horses were re-introduced to cultivate the
vineyards of Romanée-Conti and Le Montrachet. Five hectares in La Tâche and Grands Echézeaux are now
being cultivated biodynamically whereby the individual vines are treated with special natural preparations and
according to a strict lunar timetable. Yields are very low at an average of 25 hl/ha (the Grand Cru rendement is 35
hl/ha). In other words, it takes the produce of three vines to produce one bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
Yields are kept low through severe pruning early in the season, and green pruning (éclaircissage / vendange en
vert) in July/August, with a 'passage de nettoyage' completed immediately before harvest, to cut out substandard
grapes. At harvest time, the grapes are sorted into small baskets and individually examined for health on triage
tables, before the winemaking begins.
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Clos des Lambrays 1945
A legendary wine. SOLD
Click on the image to enlarge.
A legendary wine. SOLD
Click on the image to enlarge.
Musigny Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 1949
Comte Georges de Vogüé
Double magnum in owc.
A spectacular and incredibly rare large
format bottle from arguably the greatest
vintage ever for Musigny.
Click on the images to enlarge.
Price on request.
Please email us for ordering and pricing
details.
Comte Georges de Vogüé
Double magnum in owc.
A spectacular and incredibly rare large
format bottle from arguably the greatest
vintage ever for Musigny.
Click on the images to enlarge.
Price on request.
Please email us for ordering and pricing
details.
Remoissenet Vosne Romanee Clos de Reas "Tete de
Cuvee" 1949.
The standard 1949 is very scarce, the "Tete de Cuvee"
bottling like these is almost unfindable. These bottles were
released directly from the domain (which has some of the
most famous old cellars in Burgundy) in the 1990's. Perfectly
stored, absolutely mint condition. One of the greatest
Burgundy vintages of the century. The wine is astonishingly
fresh, it tastes 20 years old not 60! It's amazing how long fine
Burgundy keeps, if it has had pristine storage like available.
Please email us for ordering and pricing details.
Cuvee" 1949.
The standard 1949 is very scarce, the "Tete de Cuvee"
bottling like these is almost unfindable. These bottles were
released directly from the domain (which has some of the
most famous old cellars in Burgundy) in the 1990's. Perfectly
stored, absolutely mint condition. One of the greatest
Burgundy vintages of the century. The wine is astonishingly
fresh, it tastes 20 years old not 60! It's amazing how long fine
Burgundy keeps, if it has had pristine storage like available.
Please email us for ordering and pricing details.
La Tache, DRC, 1990.
Probably the greatest La Tache of the last 40 years.
SOLD
Probably the greatest La Tache of the last 40 years.
SOLD
Domaine Armand Rousseau
Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru
Clos St Jacques 1990
A complete case in
absolutely superb condition.
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enlarge.
SOLD.
Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru
Clos St Jacques 1990
A complete case in
absolutely superb condition.
Click on the images to
enlarge.
SOLD.
An extraordinary early bottle,
extremely irregular hand-blown
glass.
Click on the images to enlarge.
SOLD.