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Wine Region

Côte de Nuits, Burgundy

Vineyard

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

The Domaine’s co-directors are Bertrand de Villaine, nephew of Aubert de Villaine, and Perrine Fenal, daughter of Lalou Bize-Leroy. There are nine grand cru vineyards. In addition, a Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru is released in certain years, made from voluntarily declassified grapes. Corney & Barrow has been the domaine’s exclusive UK agent since 1991.The red grands crus are Corton, Échézeaux, Grands Échézeaux, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Richebourg and two ‘monopoles’, solely owned by the domaine — La Tâche and Romanée-Conti. The grand cru Chardonnay sites are Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet.Following the confiscation of the vineyards of the Prince de Conti during the French Revolution, the domaine was acquired by Monsieur Duvault-Blochet in 1869. La Tâche was bought in 1933. Romanée-Saint-Vivant was managed from 1966 and purchased outright in 1988. In addition to owning the vineyards of La Romanée-Conti and La Tâche in their entirety, the domaine owns half of Richebourg, over half of Romanée-Saint-Vivant, a third of Grands Échézeaux and a seventh of Échézeaux.Corton-Charlemagne was added to the line-up in the 2019 vintage. Made from vines leased from Domaine Bonneau du Martray, this sits alongside the red Corton, which has been produced since the 2009 vintage. 

Corney & Barrow is the exclusive UK agent.
  • 1933

    The vineyard of La Tâche was acquired by the Domaine in 1933, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, was managed by the Domaine from 1966, and in 1988, this parcel was purchased outright.

  • 44

    The vineyards are grouped around the village of Vosne-Romanée on well drained slopes facing east and southeast. The soil is iron-rich limestone on a base of rock and marl with vines lying around 800ft above sea level. The average age of the vines is very high ─ around 44 years and the vineyards are cultivated organically.

  • 1.8

    The apogee of the Domaine is Romanée-Conti itself, the same 1.8 hectare vineyard purchased from the Priory of Saint-Vivant over 750 years ago. It is both rich, concentrated and of supreme elegance and justifiably the most expensive wine of the Domaine.

Vineyard

The 7.4 hectare vineyard comprises two main plots. The larger of these, covering around three quarters of the total area, is home to the younger Merlot vines, which are planted on hard limestone soils. The other, a plot called La Boutisse, is on more fractured limestone and is planted with 80+ year old Cabernet Franc and Merlot, bringing up the average vine age to over 45 years. Three passes through the vineyard are made to harvest young Merlot, old Merlot and finally Cabernet Franc, which are all then vinified separately. Yields tend to be around 25-35hl/ha. Organic certification was obtained in 2020 and the estate has been a member of Biodyvin since 2014 and currently in biodynamic conversion . Peter is not an advocate of green harvesting, saying he would rather encourage a natural balance in his vines (which was found in 2023 ‘thanks’ to the mildew). He has encouraged biodiversity, planting bushes and shrubs at the borders of the vineyards. In his words, “I think there is a lot that can be done in Bordeaux to improve the environment.”

Cellars

Peter’s aim is to produce a classic, terroir-focused style of Saint-Émilion. The manageable size of the estate, with its modern, functional cellar, allows for vinification by parcel and vine age. Fermentation takes place at a moderate 22°C, so as not to extract too much from Rocheyron’s very concentrated grapes. As Peter diplomatically puts it, “excess concentration is not really the way forward.” His comments on alcohol are also interesting – the higher the alcohol, the greater the extraction, which needs to be borne in mind, especially with Bordeaux’s increasingly warm summers. Also of interest is that Peter says the effect of climate change on his corner of Bordeaux has so far been beneficial.

If 2023 were an actor, it would be Kenneth Branagh – a modern interpretation of a classic.”

Peter Sisseck