Romanee-Conti Tasting: Glimpsing the Holy Grail of Pinot Noir

Romanee-Conti (RC), the tiny parcel of vineyard near the village of Vosne Romanee in Burgundy, is considered by many to be the holy grail for those who love pinot noir. And it is the most coveted vineyard of Domaine de la Romanee Conti (DRC), although some, like me, may prefer other wines from the famous estate, such as La Tache. It encompasses just 1.8 hectares and produces about 450 cases of 12 bottles per year. They are some of the most expensive wines in the world, with a current vintage costing about $25,000 per bottle. The release price was officially $5,000.

The big question for me during a tasting in Los Angeles last fall was if Romanee Conti really does produce some of the greatest pinots on earth, particularly with time in the bottle. And while a number of bottles in the tasting, such as the 1990, 1999, 2005, 2009 and 2015, were majestic in quality and lived up to the vineyard’s heralded reputation, others were in bad shape, such as the legendary 1978 and 1971. The poor-quality bottles were most likely because of bad storage somewhere during their lives of cellaring because I have drunk superb bottles of these wines in my lifetime. Participants at the event – some of the top wine collectors in the world – confirmed this. It’s also an issue with logistics because bottles of DRC can literally circumnavigate the world a number of times before they are opened, which is bad news for the condition and quality of bottles.

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“We are debating how many angels are dancing on the head of a pin,” Richard Torin, the wine merchant who organized the event with his California-based company, Clarets, said enthusiastically as we were tasting the wines.

“This is the pinnacle of everything I ever did in my career,” he added.

I have been lucky enough to taste a number of bottles of the great wines of this special domain over my 42 years as a wine critic. In fact, I still remember attending a DRC tasting in 1985 at the Hotel Criillon in Paris, my first experience in judging old DRC. There were many top vintages, and the tasting was with the then winemaker/owner Lalou Bize-Leroy and current owner Aubert de Villaine. Some stunning bottles and some bad bottles were poured. I was too young to understand completely what I was tasting and drinking, to be honest. But the moment still is clear in my mind. And some incredible wines were tasted, such as the 1959 RC and 1964 RC.

That’s what DRC does to you as a wine lover when you taste a glass. It’s drinking a legend that is forever etched in your mind and heart, especially if you are lucky enough to sip some, which for me is very seldom.

In addition, if an RC bottle is in perfect condition, it evokes something magical. It seems to reach a state of suspended animation in its evolution in the bottle. It slowly changes, becoming more refined and ethereal in the bottle as time passes. Take, for example, the 1990 RC in the Los Angeles tasting. I have had it four or five times in my life, and it seems to remain almost the same. It opens ever so slightly each year as it shows its true complexity and unique character. I loved the bottle of 1990 RC we tasted in October. It was my favorite overall.

It's worth noting that less-revered vintages of RC also showed unique character, including perfumes, flowers, hibiscus, citrus and pure strawberry and raspberry fruit. I brought my one bottle of DRC – a 2008 – to share at the tasting, and everyone appreciated it despite not being a legendary year.

So, is it the holy grail? No. At least not that date in Los Angeles. But it is Romanee Conti. And even with a few off bottles, I was ecstatic that I came all the way from Hong Kong for the tasting. It reminded me of how memorable drinking a glass of Romanee Conti is today and 38 years ago.

– James Suckling, Editor/Chairman