Domaine de la Romanee Conti - An Offering of New Releases and Vintage wines from the Most Famous Domaine in Burgundy on SALE this week only!

"Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

Unfortunately there is no Chambertin on this offering but we do have a collection of DRC that is priced to sell. 

Probably one of the most sought-after wines by collectors of fine Burgundies are the wines of Domaine De La Romanée Conti (also called simply DRC).  They carry a sort of mystique about them that you only find in collectibles such as a Picasso, or a Rembrant- things that only an elite few can afford to own and even fewer really appreciate.  

Consider, for example, the significance of that crisp, fall day in 1241 when the landscape was red with the color of wine, and the air was laden with the smell of it.  The monks gathered in their Abbey at the Vosne and decided to sell the vineyard of Romanée-Conti.  They had owned it for almost 200 years and it was a monumental event when it returned to private hands.  Over the ensuing centuries, inheritance laws and the wave of anti-clericism that followed the French Revolution caused the great growths of Burgundy to be divided into a thousand meager plots.  So sacred was the vineyard of Romanée-Conti, that it never once sub-divided through nine changes of ownership.

The vineyard was once called La Romanée until it was purchased by the Prince de Conti in 1760.  De Conti acquired the vineyard only after a great struggle.  The other contestant was King Louis the Fourteenth’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour.  The prince held a banquet to celebrate the acquisition; underscoring the significance of the event was the fact that it was attended by figures such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau; even a very young Mozart was there to play the harpsichord.  When the Conti fled France during the revolution, Romanée-Conti changed hands several more times – among its owners was Napoleon’s banker.

Today’s proprietors, the Leroys and the De Villaines, have run the Domaine jointly since 1942.  After an emotional power struggle, Aubert De Villaine, who has co-managed the Domaine for 19 years, has emerged from the shadows of the ubiquitous and flamboyant Madame Bize Leroy (who was booted out by the De Villaines and other members of the Leroy family for alleged conflicts of interest).

Many critics, in describing these wines, talk of the continuity of house style and the winemaking genius of the Domaine.  The quietly purposeful Aubert De Villaine takes a little credit for the greatness of these wines.  He speaks of the “genius of the terroir” and of the Domaine’s efforts to keep the winemaking as simple and natural as possible.  American viticulturists may think they have a corner on organic farming, but De Villaine notes that the Domaine’s wines are 100 percent organic.  There are no sprays or pesticides used in the vineyard.  Although De Villaine pays homage to technology and talks of clonal research, he stresses that everything is done to ensure as little manipulation of the wine is done as possible.  Except for the 100 percent new oak, which is used with every one of the Domaine’s wines and the fact that as of 1995 the wines are no longer bottled by barrel (which critics claimed caused bottle variation), one gets the impression that things are done much in the same manner as they were 100 years ago.  De Villaine is succinct:  “There is more to be learned in what not to do than there is in what to do.  Nothing is more difficult than to be simple”.

There are some wine writers that feel there is somewhat of a secret when it comes to the wines of this fabled estate.  Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate has stated that the Domaine’s use of lightly toasted François Frères barrels (the preferred source for most of the great estates of the Côte d’Or), which are air dried for three years prior to use, could have something to do with it.  However, Bernard Noblet, the cellar master, has assured that they are neither steam cleaned nor are they rubbed with any special ointments as speculation has suggested. 

La Tâche is entirely owned by Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, a fact that makes it a "monopole."  The domaine has exclusive rights on a second vineyard -- the grand cru Romanee-Conti itself.  It's almost joined at the hip with La Tache; they are within a stone's throw of one another. And just like the great grands crus from the Côte d'Or, Burgundy's "golden slope," both vineyards are well-drained and exposed to the east-southeast; both tilt down gently on the hillside toward the stone walls surrounding Vosne-Romanee.  This village lies in the center of the Cote de Nuits, and its grands crus are the sirloin cut of red Burgundy country: no sinewy tannins, just a marbling of smooth texture.  The wines made here are famous for their spicy, perfumy nose, highlighted by cinnamon and earthy notes that rely more on spices than red or black fruits.

2020 and 2021 Vintage NEW Releases from Domaine De La Romanee Conti

2021 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits

Price: $20500.00            Your Price: $17,500.00                 Quantity in Stock: 1

One of the world’s most coveted wines.  Romane Conti is as good as it will ever get in Burgundy, the Romanee-Conti monopole is from a 1.8 hectare plot of 60+ year-old vines. Outwardly gorgeous in every vintage, the texture and depth are perfectly-knit with the wine's aura and haunting elegance. 2021 yield was 20 hL/ha.  The produce around 6,000 bottles of this cru in any vintage.

“The 2021 vintage has turned out brilliantly at the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, delivering wines of striking perfume and sensuality. Sadly, there just isn't very much of them to go around. The April frosts destroyed around half the crop in Vosne-Romanée and even more in the Côte de Beaune, indeed, fully 90% in Chardonnay. Harvest began on September 23, lasting until October 2, with Echézéaux and Corton-Charlemagne the last to be brought in. In the winery, Alex Bernier and his team retained all the bunches intact without destemming after sorting, and the wines matured in new barrels until bottling between December and May of 2023. The late harvest brought full physiological maturity without high alcoholic degrees, and the low yields express themselves in mid-palate unctuosity rather than any of the stigmata that can sometimes distinguish frost vintages, especially in Chardonnay. In style, they evoke the classics of yesteryear, but the evocation is surely a little deceptive, as these 2021s are already so suave and structurally polished that it's hard to resist them today—so if this is classicism, in other words, it's a decidedly contemporary classicism. Above all, these are wines that beg the question, how do we define a great vintage? Is it when wines impress or when they seduce? The Domaine de la Romanée-Contis would certainly pass the latter test.                  Published: Jan 18, 2024, Wine Advocate

2020 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANÉE-CONTI ROMANÉE-CONTI MONOPOLE GRAND CRU (OWC) 3 Pack

Price: $90,000.00           Sale Price: $75,000.00                  Quantity in Stock: 1

(99 Points) The 2020 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru was picked on 26 and 28 August at 28.7hL/ha. As usual, I leave it for 5-10 minutes to open in the glass, predisposed not to show everything upon first pour. It reveals lovely dark berry fruit, sous-bois, clove and haunting sea spray notes (picture yourself walking along the pebble beach at Whistable and the tang of shucked oyster shell in the salty air). The palate is medium-bodied with very fine and pliant tannins. Harmonious to a tee with a perfect silver bead of acidity, long and languorous, this fans out with ineffable ease on the finish. Stunning. 500 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in bottle tasting in London.  Vinous

2021 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru, Cote de Nuit

Price: $3900.00           Your Price: $3275.00             Quantity in Stock: 1

(96+ Points) The 2021 Richebourg Grand Cru derives entirely from lieu-dit Les Richebourg, as the domaine's holdings in Les Verroilles ou Richebourg are being replanted, though quite whether that has subtly altered the style of the bottling is hard to say with just one vintage in bottle. It's both fuller and primer than the Saint-Vivant this year, exhibiting dark cherry and framboise fruit tones mingled with notions of peony, candied peel and spruce bough. Full-bodied, sumptuous and satiny, with a textural attack that segues into a richly paltered core of fruit, its plenitude is as impressive as its long, sapid finish.  Published: Jan 18, 2024, Wine Advocate

2021 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits

Price: $3500.00               Your Price: $2975.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) "The 2021 Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru is intense and perfumed, soaring from the glass with scents of dark berries, rose petals, orange rind, aromatic bark and coniferous forest. Full-bodied, deep and unctuously textural, with a richly layered core of fruit, it's vibrant and penetrating, concluding with an intensely saline finish that marks it out as the closest relative in the range of the Romanée-Conti itself." - The Wine Advocate, (WK), tasted 1/2024

2020 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE CONTI ROMANEE ST. VIVANT GRAND CRU (6pk OWC) $16,800

Price: $3600.00               Your Price: $2975.00              Quantity in Stock: 6

(97 Points) The 2020 vintage is strikingly bright and fresh given the heat of the year, with expressive, silky cherry fruit and a rose petal edge, crisp acidity yet a lovely balancing ripeness, and a lingering persistence that is a model of finesse and elegance. The days of considering the Romanée-St-Vivant at DRC one of its ‘lesser’ bottlings is long past. The 5.29ha purchased from the Marey-Monge family in 1988 and replanted are delivering today one of the great wines of the appellation.  Decanter

2020 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE CONTI LA TACHE GRAND CRU MONOPOLE COTE DE NUITS MAGNUM

Price: $19,500.00           Your Price: $16,575.00              Quantity in Stock: 2

2020 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache Grand Cru Monopole, Cote de Nuits

Price: $7900.00               Your Price: $5500.00              Quantity in Stock: 2

(99 points) "The 2020 La Tâche Grand Cru is magical, mingling notions of mulberries, cherries and cassis with scents of bergamot, black tea, licorice, exotic spices and peonies. Full-bodied, rich and resonant, with a broad attack, huge mid-palate amplitude and a supple, seamless, elegantly muscular profile, this is a remarkably powerful but also profoundly complex, intellectually and sensually thrilling young wine. (WK)" (01/2023)  Wine Advocate

2020 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE CONTI GRANDS ECHEZEAUX GRAND CRU

Price: $3500.00               Your Price: $2975.00              Quantity in Stock: 4

(96 Points)  "The 2020 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru is stellar. It boasts tremendous aromatic presence and nervous energy. Blood orange, rose petal, lavender, chalk and dark red-toned fruit build effortlessly. There is a feeling of vibrancy to the Grands Echézeaux that is impossible to miss. Bright acids perk up the long, beautifully persistent finish. Readers will have to be patient with the 2020. It's a gorgeous wine in the making." AM for BH Mar 2023

2020 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune

Price: $7995.00               Your Price: $6795.75              Quantity in Stock: 1

(97 Points)  "The 2020 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has turned out beautifully, offering up aromas of crisp pear and green apple mingled with notions of hazelnuts, lime zest, white flowers, nutmeg and freshly baked bread. Full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, it's ample but incisive, with a vibrant spine of acidity and chalky structuring extract. Combining the depth and intensity of flavor of 2019 with supplemental cut and tension, it's a step up in quality from that excellent debut vintage." WK for Wine Advocate Jan 2023

2019 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Cote de Beaune

Price: $9950.00               Your Price: $8457.50              Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 Points) "The 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is the debut release of this new cuvée from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, produced from almost three hectares of vineyards, in the communes of Aloxe-Corton and Pernand-Vergelesses, that have been leased from Bonneau du Martray since November 2018. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of citrus zest, pear and preserved peaches mingled with wheat toast, sesame oil, vanilla pod, beeswax and smoke, it's full-bodied, rich and textural, with a ripe, enveloping core of fruit that's framed by lively acids and chalky structuring extract. Concluding with a long, saline finish, it reflects the domaine's vision for Chardonnay—picked at full maturity, in a powerful, gastronomic style—while remaining more tightly coiled and mineral in style than its Montrachet stablemate." - William Kelley, robertparker.com (Jan 20, 2022)

All the Domaine De La Romanee Conti in the store on SALE!:

Provenance is all important when it comes to old Burgundy and we have tasted almost all of the wines on this offering from the cellars that they were acquired from.   Please inquire and we will send pictures of any bottle that you are interested in on this offering.

 

1989 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI ASSORTMENT CASE, COTE DE NUITS, FRANCE OWC

Price: $125000.00                        Sale Price: $89000.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

This mixed case of DRC was purchased upon release through the US importer, the bottles are all in perfect condition and we have photos available of each bottle upon request.  The case contains :  3 – La Tache, 3- Romanee St. Vivant, 2- Echezeaux, 1- Grands Echezeaux, 2- Richebourg and 1 Romanee conti 

2014 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANÉE-CONTI ROMANÉE-CONTI MONOPOLE GRAND CRU Magnum

Price: $60,000.00                         Your Price: $49,000.00        Quantity in Stock: 2

(97 Points) The 2014 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru was picked on 19 September, cropped at 32.6 hectoliters per hectare and bottled on 25 and 26 April 2016. I remember tasting this from barrel, thinking how taciturn it was, before coaxing out those subtle tertiary aromas. Here it remains bashful once more, however, it soon begins to open and deliver the ethereal, mineral-infused red fruit. It is almost conservative compared to the more multi-faceted 2014 La Tâche. This is precise and detailed, not inclined to deliver aromatic "thrills" at such an early juncture. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, perfectly judged acidity, perhaps fuller in the mouth than the 2013 Romanée-Conti, with volume and grip towards the finish. Paradoxically, it is also a discrete wine, quite linear and maybe without the sustained persistence that elevates the La Tâche. You could sum up this Romanée-Conti in three words: precision, precision, precision. A total of 657 cases were produced, which is much above the average of 450, but do not expect the normal economic rules of supply and demand to apply. Tasted February 2017. Wine Advocate

1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti MONOPOLE GRAND CRU

Price: $27,500.00           Your Price: $23,375.00                 Quantity in Stock: 1

(98 Points) Incredible harmony to this pedigreed red Burgundy. Closed on the nose now, it unfolds layers of elegant yet superripe fruit, wrapping around the palate, coating every taste bud with the silky flavors. Full-bodied and not powerful, it's just lovely, with an aftertaste that seems to last for minutes. Best from 2006 through 2036.  Wine Spectator,September 1999

1995 Domaine De La Romanee Conti Romanee Conti Grand Cru

Price: $25,750.00           Your Price: $21,800.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) The 1995 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is a striking wine, wafting from the glass with aromas of red berries, wilted rose petals, hints of blood orange, exotic spices and forest floor, distinguished by its purity of fruit and aromatic range. Full-bodied, deep and seamless, it's supple and vibrant, with a crystalline core of fruit, beautifully refined tannins and a long, saline finish. More youthful than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant drunk alongside, it will be very long lived.  Published: Mar 15, 2022, The Wine Advocate

1964 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee Conti Grand Cru Monopole Cote de Nuits

Price: $25000.00            Sale Price: $19500.00                   Quantity in Stock: 1

2.25 Inch Ullage.  This is an epic vintage for Burgundy and is 60 years old and drinking incredibly well for such and old wine.  We showed 12 different 1964 vintage Burgundies to start out 2024 and they were all amazing but this wine was not in the budget for that tasting.

2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru

Price: $5500.00               Your Price: $4675.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) The 2004 La Tâche is a brilliant example of the vintage in the making, with stunning complexity already in evidence on the both the nose and palate, despite the wine still being very youthful. The beautiful bouquet offers up a very complex blend of red and black cherries, beetroot, vinesmoke, a great base of soil, bitter chocolate, fresh herbs and just a touch of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and brilliantly focused, with a great core of fruit, beautiful balance and great length and grip on the tangy and moderately tannic finish. All this great wine needs is more time in the cellar. Review Date: 03/2009, John Gilman

2003 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE CONTI LA TACHE GRAND CRU MAGNUM

Price: $19500.00            Your Price: $16575.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(99 Points0 The 2003 La Tache reveals aromas of milk chocolate, violets, roses, and dark cherries. Suave, displaying massive amplitude and a full-bodied, velvety-textured character, this behemoth’s flavor profile brings to mind chocolate-covered black cherries. Immensely powerful and noble, it offers an interminable finish that is packed with flawlessly ripe, sweet tannin. Projected maturity: 2013-2030. Wine Advocate

1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru

Price: $8500.00                            Your Price: $5975.00               Quantity in Stock: 1

(94-97 Points) This blockbuster wine possesses a profound nose. It exhibits awesomely ripe red and black fruits, raw meat, and Asian spices, all of which are encased in sweet toasty oak. This full-bodied, wide, thick, focused, harmonious, and intense wine releases amazingly powerful layers of candied black cherries and blackberries. It is structured, totally precise, pure, and possesses an exceptionally long finish loaded with abundant sweet tannins. It will require patience. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020.  Reviewed by: Pierre Rovani, The Wine Advocate

1995 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache Grand Cru

Price: $8500.00               Your Price: $5500.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(98 Points) Pale to medium ruby with a touch of brick. The La Tache gives very little on the nose to begin with but soon blossoms into the most incredible cherry compote, black truffle, cloves, loam, saucisson and tobacco leaf aromas. The palate shows exemplary structure and concentration, seamlessly knitting very crisp acidity with a firm level of very finely grained tannins and layer upon layer of complex fruit, mineral and game flavours. Very long finish. This wine has many great years left and will generously reward the patient. In Asia # 0510, May 2010

1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache Grand Cru Monopole Cote de Nuits Stained Label

Price: $12500.00            Sale Price: $8000.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

1990 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE CONTI LA TACHE GRAND CRU

Price: $12500.00            Your Price: $9975.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(100 points) I cannot think of a more profound, young red Burgundy tasted than DRC’s 1990 La Tache. Although it still requires another 3-4 years of cellaring, it is incredibly endowed, with an extraordinary perfume of Asian spices as well as jammy black raspberries, cherries, and blackberries infused with smoke, toast, and dried herbs. Full-bodied, but ethereal, with layers of flavor, as well as mind-boggling delicacy and complexity, this youthful La Tache will be at its finest between 2004-2015. Jan 31, 2002.  Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

1958 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANÉE-CONTI LA TÂCHE GRAND CRU (2.5 Inch Ullage)

Price: $10000.00            Sale Price: $4500.00              Quantity in Stock: 2

2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru

Price: $6600.00               Sale Price: $3995.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(97 Points) The 2009 Richebourg is a dramatic wine. In 2009 there is so much fruit that the tannins are barely perceptible. With time in the glass dark notes of tar, smoke, licorice and violets develop, adding tons of complexity to the fruit. This is a huge, vertical wine that captures the essence of Richebourg in its towering fruit and structure. Layers of fruit saturate every corner of the palate as the wine builds to a deeply satisfying crescendo of head-spinning aromas and flavors. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2059.

Domaine de la Romanee-Conti’s 2009s have turned out just as brilliantly as I had hoped. The wines reflect the signature qualities of the year, but never lose their essential classicism. Long-time DRC fans know the domaine bottles in six-barrel lots, which naturally introduces a level of bottle variation that is not found in most other wines. I hope the massive amount of information that has recently come to light regarding counterfeit wines and their proliferation might be the catalyst for the domaine to consider bottling their wines in one homogenous lot, as is common for the vast majority of high-quality wines throughout the world. Once the domaine’s wines mature in 20-30 years it will be impossible to tell the difference between ‘normal’ bottle variation, poorly stored bottles and very good fakes. Certainly consumers who are willing and able to pay the prices these wines fetch are at the very least deserving of a consistent product.  Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate

2008 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Richebourg Grand Cru

Price: $6500.00               Sale Price: $3995.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) The 2008 Richebourg sweeps across the palate with a breathtaking combination of elegance and power. It is a huge wine that boasts tons of mineral-driven, pointed fruit with more than enough depth to fill out its broad shoulders. All of the elements build gracefully towards the intense, taut finish. The Richebourg is likely to require considerable patience. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2043.

tasted the 2008s in bottle in late June 2011 after having gone through the 2010s from barrel. Aubert de Villaine describes 2008 as a difficult vintage with a lot of rain. Botrytis was an issue and the vineyards required constant attention. On September 14 the weather changed dramatically. A steady north wind dried out the grapes and concentrated sugars quickly, which also reduced the size of the berries. A further selection of fruit lowered yields to an even greater extent, resulting in overall production that is as much as 50% lower than normal for the Domaine. As for the wines, they are magnificent in my view, but will require considerable patience.  Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate

2003 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru

Price: $5200.00               Sale Price: $3995.00              Quantity in Stock: 2

(97 Points) Violets, roses, raspberries, and red cherries emanate from the 2003 Richebourg. Full-bodied, deep, and hugely concentrated, it is muscular, firm and displays the firmest structure of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti’s 2003s. Soy sauce, tar, chocolate, and dark fruits are found in its focused, audacious personality. Its impressively persistent finish is studded with highly present tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2025. Reviewed by: Pierre Rovani, The Wine Advocate

2002 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru

Price: $7800.00               Sale Price: $5995.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 Points) "I had not tried the '02 Riche in several years so it was interesting to see how it's progressing. The expressive though very cool nose is finally beginning to display the initial hints of maturity with the classic dried rose petal and spice nuances adding both elegance and breadth to the pretty mix of red fruit and plum scents. There is a beguiling mouth feel to the intensely mineral-driven broad-shouldered flavors that are at once powerful but sleek, all wrapped in a muscular and palate staining finish. The refined palate impression is considerably enhanced by the dense but extremely fine tannins, in fact so much so that while this is still very clearly on the way up it could actually be drunk now with pleasure. That said I would still strongly advise holding this strikingly pretty effort for another 6 to 10 years first." 04/15. Allen Meadows, Burghound

1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru

List Price: $7600.00        Sale Price: $5995.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(99 Points) The 1999 Richebourg is simply majestic. In fact, 1999 may be a year in which the Richebourg is just a bit more complex than the La Tâche. Hoisin, smoke, exotic spices and rich, unctuous fruit flesh out in the glass. The 1999 has more than enough fruit to fill out its big, broad frame. It, too, will drink well for several decades. (AG) Review Date: 05/2016, Vinous

1988 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France

Price: $5500.00               Sale Price: $4500.00              Quantity in Stock: 11

(96 Points) The Richebourg was an explosive wine with an earthy, cinnamon, gingery, soy sauce aroma backed up with the intense smell of plums and toasty new oak. Extremely rich, full bodied, and awesomely proportioned, this heroic wine should be drunk from the late nineties through the first two decades of the twenty-first century. It seems bigger, fuller, and more powerful than even the celestial 1985.

The prices for the wines of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti may be exorbitant but the quality of the wines produced in the eighties is truly remarkable. The 1988s are celestial wines selling at stratospheric prices. The 1988 production was twice what it was in 1987, but the same as in 1985. The 1988s are fuller-bodied, deeper, more concentrated wines than the superb 1987s, and will need some time in the cellar to shed their generous amounts of tannin. The only vintage they can be favorably compared with is the 1985 vintage, and the 1985s were a great deal more forward and flattering to taste when young. There is more depth in the 1988s than in the 1986s or even the superb 1980s (which turned out to be the finest wines made in that underrated vintage).  Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr. The Wine Advocate

1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru

List Price: $5900.00        Sale Price: $5000.00               Quantity in Stock: 2

(98 points)  "An absolutely stunning wine, the 1999 Romanée St. Vivant is also deeply informed by vintage. Layers of flavor burst from the glass in all directions in a wine that captures the essence of Romanée St. Vivant. At times delicate and refined, while at others a wine of structure, the St. Vivant dazzles with its complexity and nuance. Clean veins of underlying minerality support the vibrant, saline finish in a breathtaking Burgundy endowed with superb depth. The first DRC wine I ever tasted was a Romanée St. Vivant, so this wine has always been a sentimental favorite. The 1999 is a stunner."-(AG) Review Date: December 2013 Vinous

2001 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru

List Price: $5500.00        Sale Price: $3495.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(88-89 Points) The 2001 Romanee-St.-Vivant is ruby-colored and sports a nose of white pepper, spices, and black cherries. Light to medium-bodied, it is juicy, delicate, and reveals an oak-laced red fruit-flavored character. This complex, lace-like wine tightens in the finish, displaying notes of vanilla-laced new oak. Drink it over the next 6-7 years.

Concerning the 2001s, de Villaine, the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti’s co-director, stated that “it was not an easy year, it was a real roller coaster for vignerons. The estate’s vineyards, like everyone in Burgundy, had rot infestations so we did two harvests, one for the best, healthiest bunches and then another. Of course, we meticulously sorted all the fruit as we always do.”

Those readers who are always looking for news concerning the next vintage will be interested to hear the following. Unlike almost all his colleagues who said that 2002 was going to be a spectacular vintage, de Villaine informed me that it would “another irregular year.”

2002 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru

Price: $6950.00               Sale Price: $4600.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(90 Points) Mocha, toasted oak, and roasting spices are discerned in the nose of the light to medium-bodied 2002 Romanee-St.-Vivant. Its suave, silky-textured attack reveals impressive black cherry and blackberry flavors intermingled with cafe au lait as well as violets. This light to medium-bodied wine’s mid-palate has terrific mouth-feel yet its lengthy finish displays some firm tannin that will require patience. Drink it between 2009 and 2016.  The Wine Advocate

2005 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru

Price: $6150.00               Sale Price: $4295.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(96-97 Points) Just as this year’s Echezeaux challenges the quality of the Grands-Echezeaux, another surprise of the vintage is a spectacular showing for the 2005 Romanee-St.-Vivant. A startlingly dark, mouth-watering amalgam of purple plum paste, blackberry preserves, bitter chocolate, toasted walnut, soy, and raw beef intrigues the nose. On the palate, this cleaves to the dark side, with viscous, mouth-coating concentration of lightly-cooked black fruits, charred meat, mysterious forest floor complexity, and bitter-sweet florality, but simultaneously delivers a vibratory finish like that of the energetic Grands-Echezeaux. With its palpable extract, profound personality, and refined but abundant tannins, this is surely wine to set aside for at least a decade.

Once the grapes in these fabled vineyards had reached a potential alcohol of 13%, reports Aubert de Villaine, he was ready to pick, because conditions had seldom been so conducive to perfect ripeness (including that of the stems). It was all done in a week, commencing with La Tache and Romanee Conti, and finishing on September 23 with Romanee-St.-Vivant (and Montrachet, on which I shall report at a future date). De Villaine intended to bottle in March or April by gravity in six-barrel lots, as has become general practice here over the past decade.  Wine Advocate

2011 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru

Price: $5100.00               Sale Price: $2995.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) Surprisingly forward and accessible, the 2011 RSV features pomegranate and black plum fruit aromas with hints of rose petals, fresh leather, and spice. The texture is silky and seductive, with plenty of breadth but no sensation of heaviness and no tart or bitter notes. This bottle confirms the trend of the improvement of RSV within the DRC portfolio in recent years. This wine seems ready to drink, yet it still has excellent potential for future development. Picked 8-9 September; 13,971 bottles produced. (CC)  Decanter, Review Date: 01/2023

2012 Domaine de La Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru

Price: $3500.00               Your Price: $2975.00              Quantity in Stock: 2

(95 Points) The 2012 Grands Echézeaux was picked on September 22, 24 and 25, at 27 hectoliters per hectare. Compared to the Echézeaux the nose is more demure, perhaps more refined, does not feel the urge to "put it all out" as it were. Reticent is the word - yet the precision and delineation is undeniable. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannin, here a mixture of red and black fruit, a little broodier and more introspective than its "cousin" but with greater persistence in the mouth. It unfurls on the finish: hints of dry tobacco and cedar, leaving you with the impression of a "masculine" Grands Echézeaux, one built for the long haul. 987 cases produced.  Reviewed by: Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

2010 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru

Price: $5500.00               Sale Price: $3995.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) This is the second time that I have tasted the 2010 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru from bottle from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and it was a wine that prompted a table of mature Pinot aficionadoes to remark upon the joys of infanticide. This is just a fantastic wine from the domaine. The nose is heavenly with its exquisite delineation, the fruit maybe a touch darker and earthier than a couple of years ago -- yet still with subtle woodland/sous-bois aromas and a hint of morels. The palate is wonderfully defined, so fresh and precise with filigree tannin. Yet there is great backbone to this wine, a framework that imparts a sense of symmetry that is totally disarming. Of course, readers should afford this magnificent wine a decade in the cellar...unless by complete accident a corkscrew falls into the cork and twists around until the cork pops out. Then you will have to drink it.  Reviewed by: Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate

2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru

Price: $5100.00               Sale Price: $3595.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 Points) The 2009 Grands-Echezeaux jumps from the glass with vivid aromatics and equally voluptuous fruit. Despite its richness, the Grands-Echezeaux seems to hover on the palate. Layers of fruit continue to build to the long super-refined finish. Over the last few years the Grands-Echezeaux seems like the most improved wine at DRC. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti’s 2009s have turned out just as brilliantly as I had hoped. The wines reflect the signature qualities of the year, but never lose their essential classicism. Long-time DRC fans know the domaine bottles in six-barrel lots, which naturally introduces a level of bottle variation that is not found in most other wines. I hope the massive amount of information that has recently come to light regarding counterfeit wines and their proliferation might be the catalyst for the domaine to consider bottling their wines in one homogenous lot, as is common for the vast majority of high-quality wines throughout the world. Once the domaine’s wines mature in 20-30 years it will be impossible to tell the difference between ‘normal’ bottle variation, poorly stored bottles and very good fakes. Certainly consumers who are willing and able to pay the prices these wines fetch are at the very least deserving of a consistent product.  Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate

2008 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru

Price: $5700.00               Sale Price: $2995.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 Points) The 2008 Grands-Echezeaux is a stunningly beautiful wine. Exotic notes of star anise, fennel, hard candy and orange peel meld into a deep core of expressive fruit. The 2008 Grands-Echezeaux is powerful from start to finish, with endless layers of flavor that grow in the glass. It is a spherical, multi-dimensional Burgundy in need of at least a few years in the cellar, perhaps quite a few. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2038.

tasted the 2008s in bottle in late June 2011 after having gone through the 2010s from barrel. Aubert de Villaine describes 2008 as a difficult vintage with a lot of rain. Botrytis was an issue and the vineyards required constant attention. On September 14 the weather changed dramatically. A steady north wind dried out the grapes and concentrated sugars quickly, which also reduced the size of the berries. A further selection of fruit lowered yields to an even greater extent, resulting in overall production that is as much as 50% lower than normal for the Domaine. As for the wines, they are magnificent in my view, but will require considerable patience.  Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate

1988 Domaine De La Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru

Price: $4900.00               Sale Price: $3500.00              Quantity in Stock: 25

(95 points) "I have been telling people for years that this domaine's 'best buy,' if such a label can be applied here, is the Grands Echezeaux. While it is not Romanée-Conti or La Tâche, it often comes very close to those two titans, at a fraction of the price. In 1988, it is fabulous. In fact, my unedited tasting notes had the words 'fabulous' in them twice and 'awesome' once. It is decadently rich and spicy with an extraordinary perfume of violets, gamey, plum-like fruit, toasty new oak, and a finish that must last several minutes." Wine Advocate.

2004 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France Magnum

Price: $10500.00            Sale Price: $7999.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(93 Points) The fruit is a touch darker than the Echézeaux, offering cherry, licorice and sandalwood aromas. This is also less forthcoming and tight, with a refined structure and plenty of finesse, suggesting greater potential for aging Wine Spectator

1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France

Price: $5000.00               Sale Price: $4000.00              Quantity in Stock: 1

(Label Damaged due to Mold)

(92 Points) The 1990 Echezeaux continues to confirm that the DRC has been successful in turning out a richer, more structured wine in vintages since 1988. The deep color (it may be the darkest Echezeaux I have seen) is followed by a bouquet with well-developed aromas of spices, plums, black-raspberries, and sweet new oak. In the mouth, the wine exhibits admirable toastiness, rich, medium to full body, moderate tannins, low acidity, and an impressive finish. Anticipated maturity: 1995-2010.

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. Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr. The Wine Advocate

1988 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France

Price: $4500.00               Sale Price: $3250.00              Quantity in Stock: 11

(92 points) " I do not think I have ever tasted a better example of Echezeaux, a wine that is usually their lightest and quickest to mature. In 1988, it is bursting with rich, concentrated, berry fruit, has the exotic, oriental spice character that often marks the wines from this domaine, and is sensationally long and full." Wine Advocate

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