Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Burgundy: 10 Best Wines, Prices, Vineyards (2023)

Domaine de la Romanée Conti or DRC is one of the most hallowed names in the world of wine! 

Its history and winemaking practices are nothing short of awe-inspiring. DRC wine labels have captured the hearts of many, including an Archbishop of Paris, who in 1780 described it as “velvet and satin in bottles.”

In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about DRC - its vineyards, the best wines you should buy, their investment potential, and other interesting facts about this exclusive winery.

The Prestigious Domaine de la Romanée Conti

Domaine de la Romanée Conti produces some of the greatest wine labels in the world. 

Based in the village of Vosne-Romanée in Burgundy, France, the Domaine is now owned by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families. 

It is managed by Aubert de Villane and Perrine Fenal Leroy. Perrine Fenal stepped up after the death of esteemed co-director Henry Frédéric Roch in 2018. 

Perrine Fenal is the granddaughter of Henri Leroy and the daughter of Domaine Leroy founder Lalou Bize Leroy.

Lalou Bize Leroy was co-director of DRC with Aubert de Villaine until 1992. Domaine Leroy is another Bourgogne icon, with estates in Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey Chambertin.

DRC produces only grand cru wines, though the rare Premier Cru (or 1er cru) DRC Cuvée Duvault Blochet is released in exceptional years (a wine made from younger vines of the grand cru vineyard lands.) 

Let’s explore more about DRC’s revered grand crus.

What does Romanée-Conti Wine Taste Like?

All Burgundy grand cru DRC wines have a unique terroir expression, lending them unique flavors and characteristics.

Here’s a comparison of 2017 DRC’s grands crus and their tasting notes:

• Corton red is expressive, revealing crisp fruit and magnificent energy. 

• La Tâche has to be aired in the glass and eventually reveals a nose of discreet blue fruit with a complex and exquisitely balanced palate.

• Romanée Conti has a rose petal aroma and pure, vibrant red cherries and cranberry palate.

• Le Montrachet is a full-bodied and textural white wine with green pear, fresh pastry, and clear honey aromas.

Now take a look at some of DRC’s splendid wines that you should consider buying.  

10 Precious Wines of Domaine de la Romanée Conti (Including Taste, Prices)

Here are some of the most enchanting wines from Domaine de la Romanée Conti:

1. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Romanée Conti Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($35,257)

2. Domaine de la Romanée Conti La Tâche Grand Cru Monopole 2015, Côte de Nuits ($8,628)

3. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Richebourg Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($5,688)

4. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Montrachet Grand Cru 2014, Côte de Beaune ($12,176)

5. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Romanée Saint Vivant Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($4,391)

6. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($3,940)

7. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Grands Échezeaux Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($4,603)

8. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Corton Grand Cru 2016, Côte de Beaune ($3,117)

9. 2018 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Cuvee Duvault Blochet ($3,895)

10. 2017 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru ($11,459)

1. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Romanée Conti Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($35,257)

The 2015 vintage unfurls beautifully with a complex nose of exotic spice and soft tannin mouthfeel. 

This Burgundy red is a seamless blend of sweet, ripe strawberry and cherry fruit, pepper, tea, and herbs that lead to an intense, long, and fruit-dominated finish.

2. Domaine de la Romanée Conti La Tâche Grand Cru Monopole 2015, Côte de Nuits ($8,628)

The La Tâche red wine vintage has a nose of pure black fruit with a hint of blackberry liqueur, complex sous bois, caramel, and subtle limestone minerals. 

Concentrated and balanced, with delicate acidity, it has a long finish that resonates with tea and Vosne spice.

3. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Richebourg Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($5,688)

The DRC Richebourg Grand Cru 2015 offers highly intense aromas of sous bois, sweet red fruit, and mineral scents. The palate has a distinctive dark fruit flavor with earth, ash, and toasty notes. Round, silky tannins complement the powerful but harmonious structure.

4. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Montrachet Grand Cru 2014, Côte de Beaune ($12,176)

This Chardonnay fine wine has a wonderful nose with elegant minerality, peach, baking spices, and pineapple. Soft and seductive, this Burgundy white has plenty of citrus, apple, and tropical fruit on the palate. The structure is fine with well-integrated acidity, driving to a fruit-dominated finish.

5. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Romanée Saint Vivant Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($4,391)

The 2015 vintage Pinot Noir is deep and concentrated with lovely wild berries, light floral tones, and some leather aromas. It offers delicious red currant fruit and licorice flavors with a long, juicy finish. 

6. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($3,940)

The Echezeaux 2015 is expressive on the nose, displaying ripe, jammy black fruit with a hint of red berry liqueur, black cherry, plum, and crushed rock. It is concentrated and opulent with bright acidity and an intense, fruit-driven finish. 

7. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Grands Échezeaux Grand Cru 2015, Côte de Nuits ($4,603)

The 2015 vintage red wine offers a fresh red fruit aroma that becomes candied with more time in the glass. Medium acidity and round but noticeable tannins make up the underlying structure of this wine. 

8. Domaine de la Romanée Conti Corton Grand Cru 2016, Côte de Beaune ($3,117)

The 2016 Corton Grand Cru is a splendid bottle of Pinot Noir with lots of fresh herbs around a sweet fruit core dominated by a tasting note of strawberries and sour cherries. It has a beautiful, soft structure with fine tannins and medium acidity.

9. 2018 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Cuvee Duvault Blochet ($3,895)

This elegant Pinot Noir reveals rich red fruit flavor notes accompanied by delightful spice hints and vibrant barrique undertones. The vivid aroma bouquet has light spice, smoke, and cassis aromas.

10. 2017 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru ($11,459)

This coveted Chardonnay wine is rich in minerality with light oaky undertones. The palate has intense citrus and green apple notes with subtle hints of smoke and honey.

Now for the most important question:

Why Should You Invest in Domaine de la Romanée Conti Wine?

You can easily invest in DRC and other prestigious wine labels with the help of Vinovest, which allows you to buy, store, and sell fine wine bottles. You can even get your wine delivered straight to your doorstep no matter your location - whether you’re in Europe, New Zealand, or South America. 

DRC bottles are great collectibles due to their historical links with royalty, scarcity, and age-worthiness.

The winery produces only 450 cases of its flagship wine, Romanée Conti, and only 6,000-8,000 cases a year across its other grands crus.

DRC Romanee Conti has established its position as one of the most expensive wine labels in the world, with a single bottle averaging nearly $26,000. So, it comes as no surprise that this wine is also sold at extremely high prices at auctions. 

For example, at a Christie’s wine auction in London in 2018, a case of DRC Romanee Conti sold for $357,823. 

All these factors continue to drive up its desirability, demand, and prices - evident in its stellar track record at auctions.

The Prestigious Vineyards of DRC 

Domaine de la Romanée Conti holds land parcels in some of the most valuable vineyards in the world. Its most famous land is La Romanée Conti, a tiny vineyard located in Vosne-Romanée, in France’s Burgundy region.

The origins of the Romanée Conti vineyard date back to the 13th century, when it was owned by the Church of Saint Vivant. 

In 1760 it was sold to the Prince de Conti, who named it Romanee Conti. In 1869 the land was bought by Jacques Marie Duvault Blochet (de Villaine’s ancestor.) La Romanée Conti received AOC status in 1936, and today it is a monopole of Domaine de la Romanée Conti.    

At only 1.81 hectares (4.47 acres), La Romanée Conti vineyard cultivates 100% Pinot Noir, vine plants that produce some of the scarcest, most expensive red wines in the world. 

The terroir of Romanée Conti on the midslope of Côte d'Or is well-suited to this finicky grape. Well-drained, pebbly limestone soil and an easterly position with ample sunlight allow the Pinot Noir grape to thrive. 

The vine plantings here are more than 50 years old on average and are extremely low-yielding. 

The Eight Other Grand Cru Vineyards of DRC

Domaine Romanee Conti has plots in eight other grand cru vineyards. 

The Pinot Noir grapes are planted in the following vineyard plots:

• La Tâche (south of La Grande Rue) 
• Romanée-Saint-Vivant (Romanée-St-Vivant)
• Richebourg
• Corton
• Echezeaux
• Grands Echezeaux

The Chardonnaywhite wine grape variety is grown in:

• The Le Montrachet vineyard: This is where DRC’s only white wine is made and in very limited quantities. 

• The Corton-Charlemagne grand cru vineyard: In 2018, DRC added this vineyard to extend its foray into white wine production. 2019 is the first vintage. 

Winemaking at DRC follows impeccable standards. Let’s take a look at some of the unique production techniques.

Winemaking at Domaine de la Romanée Conti

Aubert de Villaine instituted organic farming in 1986, following traditional and natural winemaking practices: 

• Only natural yeasts are used during fermentation. 
• Aging is conducted in 100% new oak, sourced from the Domaine’s private supply in the Troncais forests. 

• The wines are not filtered, and if racking off lees is needed, it’s done by gravity from cask to cask. 
• If fining is required, DRC utilizes fresh eggs. 
• The wines spend 16-20 months in oak before bottling. 

Interesting Facts about Romanée Conti

Here are some more interesting facts about the Domaine.

1. The only Burgundy Domaine that produces 100% grand cru wines

DRC is the only Burgundian Domaine that can claim all its wines are from grand cru vineyards.

2. DRC vineyards are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site

In July 2015, Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits climats received the “World Heritage” status from the United Nations. This came after a decade of lobbying and research led by Aubert de Villaine.

3. Traditions and lineage hold strong at DRC

The current Chef de Cave (head winemaker of the Domaine), André Noblet (son of Bernard Noblet), took over from his father in 1985. Bernard Noblet had taken care of the cellar for 45 years before that.

4. “Sharing” was not in Prince de Conti’s vocabulary

Louis François de Bourbon, the Prince de Conti who gave his name to the vineyard, was not a fan of sharing. When he acquired La Romanée in 1760, he took all its wine bottles off the market, keeping them for his personal consumption.

5. DRC wine is a favorite of Asian collectors

Asian collectors love Burgundy wines and are especially interested in DRC labels. That’s because DRC is one of the premier wines of Burgundy. 

In July 2020, a 6-liter Methuselah bottle of DRC Romanée-Conti 1999 led Sotheby’s Hong Kong wine auction with a stunning sale of $272,100. This is double its previous estimated value. 

6. DRC is a favorite target for counterfeiters 

The high-priced grand cru wines are a frequent victim of counterfeits.

One of the most infamous cases involved Rudi Kurniawan, an Indonesian fraudster nicknamed “Dr. Conti” after his prolific production of imitation wines, including DRC.

7. A blackmailer once threatened to poison La Romanée Conti vines  

In January 2010, Aubert de Villaine received a note threatening to poison La Romanée Conti’s vines for the ransom price of a million Euros (US$1.1 million). The French authorities apprehended the blackmailer, and the vines remained safe.

8. DRC’s most expensive wine cost more than a Ferrari 812 GTS  

In October 2018, auctioneer Jamie Ritchie sold two bottles of DRC’s 1945 Romanée Conti for $558,000 and $496,000 at a Sotheby’s New York auction. That costs more than a Ferrari 812 GTS, which commands more than $380,000 today.

Why were those bottles of rare Burgundy so costly? 

Only two bottles of the highly celebrated vintage were produced in 1945! 

9. DRC Bâtard-Montrachet wines cannot be bought

DRC has a tenth cru vineyard whose wines you can never buy! This white wine from the 0.42-acre Bâtard-Montrachet vineyard is consumed exclusively at the Domaine among friends and family. 

10. DRC HQ sits on Rue du Temps Perdu 

It’s not easy to visit DRC to sample their wines, given the number of wine lovers who are politely turned away if they don’t have an appointment. No wonder the street the DRC headquarters are located on Rue du Temps Perdu, which roughly translates to the Street of Lost (or Wasted) Time! 

Domaine de la Romanée Conti: The Queen of Burgundy Wine!

A sip of Romanée Conti wine is a rich sensory experience of Burgundian history and the region’s ancient grapevines. 

The value of a DRC wine lies in its enigma - the scarcity, meticulous winemaking, and its ability to evolve with age - all this, beautifully captured in a single bottle! 

Vinovest can help any wine lover who wants to buy the elusive DRC labels. Sign up today and buy some of the greatest wine labels like DRC, Henry Jayer, and many more!