Grands Echezeaux
Biodynamic
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Vosne-Romanée, France
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has a rich history in Burgundy, including a soap-opera-like bidding war over its vineyards that goes back to the 1700s. It is named after its most famous and tiny Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy, Romanée-Conti. Since 1942, the estate has been equally owned by the Leroy and Villaine families who are responsible for its position as one of the top wineries in the world.
The vineyards of Romanée-Conti are biodynamically farmed on east and southeast-facing vineyards on limestone-based soils at over 200 meters above sea level. The vines are very old, and therefore low-yielding, but the domaine still practices very rigorous pruning. In the winery, they use some whole clusters depending on their ripeness, cool the must, and vinify in open-top wood and stainless-steel fermentation tanks.
The philosophy at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is that the winemaker is no more than an intermediary between soil and wine and should therefore interfere as little as possible. While the terroir is clearly special, credit must be given to the careful work in the vineyard and the traditional approach in the winery that lead to what may be one of the single greatest pinot noirs. The wines deftly balance power and elegance with ethereal aromas and flavors that develop with age.