Romanée-Conti
The crown jewel — and the world's most coveted wine. Luminous precision; silk, iron and dark cherry allied to a finish of near-supernatural length. Demands decades of cellaring. Minimum 20 years; great vintages develop for 50+.
Burgundy · Vosne-Romanée
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
DRC — Burgundy's supreme estate
Private producer profile
Burgundy
Vosne-Romanée
Profile
The vineyard now called Romanée-Conti has been documented since 1232, when it was gifted to the priory of Saint-Vivant in Vosne; in 1631 the de Croonembourg family purchased it — along with the adjacent La Tâche — renaming it La Romanée. In 1760, Louis-François de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, outbid Madame de Pompadour for the plot — paying an extraordinary 8,000 livres — and reserved its production entirely for his own table, lending the vineyard his name and its lasting mystique.
After passing through several hands following the French Revolution, the estate was consolidated in 1869 by Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet, ancestor of the de Villaine family, who built the Domaine as we know it today by adding Richebourg, Grands Échezeaux and Échezeaux — La Tâche having been reunited with the estate under his stewardship also.
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Henri Leroy acquired a 50% stake in 1942 from the Chambon family, establishing the de Villaine–Leroy dual-family ownership that endures today; for nearly five decades it was Aubert de Villaine who shaped the Domaine's modern identity — overseeing organic conversion in 1985, full biodynamic farming by 2007, and successfully championing the UNESCO World Heritage inscription of Burgundy's Climats in 2015 — before handing co-direction in 2022 to his nephew Bertrand de Villaine and Perrine Fenal of the Leroy family.
The winemaking transition had in fact occurred earlier: Alexandre Bernier — who had spent eight years working alongside Bernard Noblet at the Domaine after training at Domaine Chanson in Beaune — took over as chef de cave when Noblet retired in 2018, ensuring continuity of the Domaine's singular philosophy.
At a glance
First documentedc. 1232
Family ownership since1869
Current co-directorsBertrand de Villaine & Perrine Fenal
Grand cru holdings≈ 28 ha
RegionBurgundy
AppellationVosne-Romanée
TypeDomaine
Key wines
La Tâche
Broader and more opulent than Romanée-Conti itself. Liquorice, dark spice and iron, with a muscular grip that resolves into extraordinary seamlessness with age. Often the more approachable monopole in youth.
Richebourg
The most powerful cuvée in the range. Dense and muscular with extraordinary structure. Rivals the monopoles in quality in great vintages; requires at least 10–15 years before approaching.
Romanée-Saint-Vivant
The most ethereal and delicate of the reds. Aubert de Villaine described it as having "two faces" — one luminously fine and close to Romanée-Conti in character; the other austere and monastic.
Grands Échézeaux
Robert Parker's preferred "best buy" in the DRC range — approaching the great monopoles in complexity and depth at a fraction of their price. Often the most rewarding cuvée for members to acquire.
Échézeaux
The most accessible entry point to DRC — lighter in structure and earlier-drinking, though unmistakably from the same hand. Typically approachable within 8–12 years.
Le Montrachet
The Domaine's sole white wine — Chardonnay of near-mythical tension, richness and chalky mineral depth. Among the world's greatest white Burgundies and among the rarest wines produced at DRC.
Corton-Charlemagne
Leased from Domaine Bonneau du Martray; the newest white in the range. First harvest 2019, first releases from 2021 onward. A significant addition watched closely by collectors.
Corton Rouge
Currently a blend of Corton, Corton-Bressandes and Corton-Clos-du-Roi plots, to be released as separate single-vineyard wines once the vines reach full maturity.
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts
A tiny plot within the Les Petits Monts Premier Cru that previously contributed to the Cuvée Duvault-Blochet blend. Bottled as a standalone cuvée from 2018, sold exclusively to selected French restaurants. A precise, site-specific expression sitting just below Romanée-Conti on the slope — offering remarkable finesse and a direct window into one of Vosne's finest Premier Cru lieux-dits.
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault-Blochet
Named for Domaine founder Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet, this is a multi-vineyard blend from young vines across the Grand Cru holdings — La Tâche, Grands Échézeaux and Échézeaux — declassified to Premier Cru as French law requires a step-down when multiple Grands Crus are combined. First made in 1999 and produced in only around 12 vintages since. The most forward and approachable wine in the range; sold exclusively to restaurants worldwide to make DRC accessible by the glass.
Style & winemaking
DRC's guiding conviction is that the winemaker's role is to efface themselves in service of the site. Every decision — in the vineyard, in the cellar — is made to allow each climat to speak with maximal clarity. The aim is not to impose character but to remove the obstacles that would obscure it. This is why no two DRC cuvées taste alike: the wines are portraits of their individual parcels, not of a house style. Organic farming began in 1985; full biodynamic conversion was completed by 2007, with Biodyvin certification awarded in 2017. Yields average just 25 hl/ha against a Grand Cru ceiling of 35.
The Romanée-Conti and Montrachet parcels are ploughed by horse. Homeopathic preparations and biodynamic compost are applied rather than synthetic inputs; soil health and vine balance are paramount above all considerations of yield or convenience. Harvests are entirely by hand with obsessive sorting at the table. The wines are raised in 100% new oak barrels for approximately 18 months before bottling without fining or filtration. Nothing is hurried. The philosophy of non-intervention extends from vineyard to bottle: the cellar is treated as a place of restraint rather than correction.
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Alexandre Bernier, who joined in 2022, is expected to maintain rather than alter this approach.
DRC's guiding conviction is that the winemaker's role is to efface themselves in service of the site. Every decision — in the vineyard, in the cellar — is made to allow each climat to speak with maximal clarity. The aim is not to impose character but to remove the obstacles that would obscure it. This is why no two DRC cuvées taste alike: the wines are portraits of their individual parcels, not of a house style. Harvests are entirely by hand with obsessive sorting at the table. The wines are raised in 100% new oak barrels for approximately 18 months before bottling without fining or filtration.
Nothing is hurried. The philosophy of non-intervention extends from vineyard to bottle: the cellar is treated as a place of restraint rather than correction. Alexandre Bernier, who joined in 2022, is expected to maintain rather than alter this approach.
DRC's guiding conviction is that the winemaker's role is to efface themselves in service of the site. Every decision — in the vineyard, in the cellar — is made to allow each climat to speak with maximal clarity. The aim is not to impose character but to remove the obstacles that would obscure it. This is why no two DRC cuvées taste alike: the wines are portraits of their individual parcels, not of a house style. DRC propagates its own vines from around thirty lines of massal selections harvested directly from the Domaine's own vineyard blocks, preserving genetic diversity across generations.
Most vines are old — many exceed 60 years; the Romanée-Conti vines, replanted in 1947 after phylloxera, are now among the oldest in Burgundy, contributing to the extreme concentration and mineral precision the wine is known for. Despite their concentration, DRC wines are defined by tension and precision rather than weight. The hallmarks across the range are extraordinary aromatic complexity — dark cherry, violets, iron, truffle, oriental spice, damp earth — allied to a silken texture and a finish of near-supernatural length.
They are dense but never heavy, with a floating, almost weightless elegance that distinguishes them from all imitations.
Reputation
DRC — Burgundy's supreme estate
"The choice of biodynamics is consistent with what we want to do: express the nuances of the terroir as precisely as possible. It offers an additional finesse of approach compared to other options — and even to organic farming."
Milestones
First documented cultivation of the Romanée vineyard by the Cistercian monks of Saint-Vivant Abbey, Vosne
Prince Louis-François de Bourbon-Conti acquires the plot, outbidding Madame de Pompadour; names it Romanée-Conti and reserves all production for his personal table
Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet purchases and expands the estate; adds La Tâche, Richebourg, Grands Échezeaux and Échezeaux to build the core portfolio
Henri Leroy joins as co-owner, establishing the de Villaine–Leroy dual-family ownership that continues today
Romanée-Saint-Vivant acquired under long-term lease from the Marey-Monge family (purchased outright in 1988); Aubert de Villaine assumes management
Conversion to organic viticulture begins across the Domaine's holdings
Full biodynamic conversion complete; Biodyvin certification follows in 2017
UNESCO World Heritage status awarded to the Burgundy Climats — a project championed by Aubert de Villaine over a decade of lobbying
Alexandre Bernier succeeds Bernard Noblet as chef de cave after eight years working alongside him; previously trained at Domaine Chanson in Beaune
First harvest of the leased Corton-Charlemagne from Domaine Bonneau du Martray; a significant extension into white wine
Co-direction passes to Bertrand de Villaine and Perrine Fenal of the Leroy family, completing the generational handover from Aubert de Villaine
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