| - 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
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
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Clos des Lambrays 1945
A legendary wine.
SOLD
A legendary wine.
SOLD
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.
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.
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"
released directly from the domain (which has some of
the most famous old cellars in Burgundy) in the 1990's.
Perfectly Burgundy vintages of the century. The wine is
astonishingly stored, absolutely mint condition. One of
the greatest 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"
released directly from the domain (which has some of
the most famous old cellars in Burgundy) in the 1990's.
Perfectly Burgundy vintages of the century. The wine is
astonishingly stored, absolutely mint condition. One of
the greatest 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.
Click on the images to enlarge.
SOLD
Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St
Jacques 1990
A complete case in absolutely superb
condition.
Click on the images to enlarge.
SOLD
Chambertin 1898
An extraordinary early bottle, extremely
irregular hand-blown glass.
SOLD
An extraordinary early bottle, extremely
irregular hand-blown glass.
SOLD
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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.
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.