Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: The Grand Cru of Grand Crus
“Undisputedly prestigious and highly coveted, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is the most revered of Burgundian wines, whose acronym alone — DRC — commands the attention of anyone seeking to enter fine wine’s Valhalla.” This Sotheby’s quote from 2017 demonstrates how difficult it is to over-emphasize how well respected the wines made by this heralded producer are. DRC is the closest thing to a brand in Burgundy and is recognized worldwide as a symbol of the pinnacle of quality and prestige.
DRC currently produces wine from grapes grown in eleven different Grand Cru vineyards, including two monopoles, Romanée-Conti, and La Tache (these are appellations made entirely of one vineyard that is 100% owned by one party and is very rare). DRC is the only producer in Burgundy who can claim they make wine solely from Grand Cru vineyards which make up less than 2% of Burgundy’s total vineyard area. Combined, these renowned vineyards average annual production of just 7,000 cases, with the iconic monopole Romanée-Conti, producing an average of only 450 cases!
The Romanée-Conti vineyard has a centuries-long history of producing top-quality wines. Originally prized by monks who were the first to classify Burgundy’s top vineyards over 500 years ago, the Romanée-Conti vineyard was purchased by Prince Conti in 1760 after a bidding war with a mistress of King Louis XV. The prince so highly prized the wine made from this vineyard that he kept all of the wine produced for personal consumption. The vineyard remained famous through the French Revolution — so much so that, in 1866, the nearest commune, Vosne, appended the name Romanée to its name, becoming Vosne-Romanée to increase its prestige.
Over the years, the Domaine has expanded their holdings beyond the monopoles to include plots in the most prestigious vineyards in Burgundy, including Richbourg, Batard-Montrachet, Grands-Echézeaux, and Echézeaux, to name a few. Specific vineyards matter in Burgundy, because unlike in Bordeaux, where Chateaux are ranked, in Burgundy, the vineyards themselves are classified (Village, Premier Cru, Grand Cru). DRC’s stewardship of their vineyards included converting to organic farming in 1986 and to the even more stringent biodynamic practices in 2008. These approaches to farming aim to allow the soils and vines to express themselves as fully as possible without external synthetic additions and manipulations.
To maintain the DRC standards of quality, there needs to be consistency in the ownership and management of the vineyards. The Domaine has been family-owned for more than 125 years, with management currently being overseen, since 1942, by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families, with Aubert de Villaine as the face of the Domaine for the past six-plus decades. Beyond ownership consistency, the “Chef du Cave” or Cellarmaster (person overseeing the wines day to day) Bernard Noblet has been with the Domaine since 1985 when he took over from his father, who had been there the previous 45 years. The value of over eight decades of winery and vineyard knowledge separates DRC from all other producers and allows them to produce wines of extraordinary and unwavering quality.
The consistent quality produced by DRC from all of its vineyard holdings and the limited quantities
DRC’s reputation, unmatched quality, and limited production have led to ever-increasing producer fame and unprecedented prices for the wines. Prices reached record-setting levels for single bottles in 2018 when two bottles of 1945 Romanée-Conti sold for $558,000 and $496,000, respectively, at a Sotheby’s New York auction.
Today, the notoriety of DRC extends well beyond the borders of Europe and America and with the wines achieving status as the top Burgundy in Asia as well. Today in the Asian market, DRC’s sales surpass those of multiple First Growth Bordeaux despite the Bordeaux surge in popularity in the early 2000s. This prominence is further evidenced by the fact that the top two individual wines traded by value in Asia in 2021 are DRC bottlings. DRC has even expanded into popular culture, becoming a favorite of many of the NBA superstars. As evidence of this, Golden State Warrior stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green famously celebrated Curry becoming the organization’s top scorer by ordering a $5,000 bottle of 2015 DRC La Tache on the owner’s tab.
DRC transcends time, taste, and culture. At the hands of Aubert de Villaine and Bernard Noblet, DRC’s wines have become universally accepted as the benchmark Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and deserving of its historically high prices. At Vint, we are incredibly privileged to work with such remarkable wines and are excited to offer our investors the opportunity to invest in this exceptional collection.
Written by: Billy Galanko, Head of Wine
Vint is the first fully-transparent, efficient platform for wine & spirits collection investing. Vint offers shares of SEC-qualified collections to both non-accredited and accredited investors. Our mission is to make the wine & spirits industry transparent and investable. We work with world-class experts to curate thematic collections of fine wine & spirits removing all of the traditional barriers to investing in wine and spirits. Learn more at Vint.co.
Sources:
https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-vosne-romanee
https://vinepair.com/articles/domaine-romanee-conti-facts/
https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/best-of-burgundy-domaine-de-la-romanee-conti
https://www.guildsomm.com/research/wiki/i/cte_de_nuits/domaine_de_la_romane-conti
