Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

The vineyard at the heart of the domaine was first documented in 1232 as a holding of the Abbey of Saint Vivant in Vosne. The de Croonembourg family acquired it in 1631 and renamed it La Romanée; in 1760 Louis François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, purchased the plot and added his title, fixing the name Romanée-Conti. After the Revolution the vineyard was auctioned as a bien national and passed through several owners before Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet bought it in 1869 and consolidated the multi-parcel estate that became the modern domaine, adding Richebourg, Grands-Échezeaux, Échezeaux, and La Tâche piece by piece across the late nineteenth century. The Société Civile du Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was formally constituted in 1942 when Henri Leroy acquired a 50 percent stake from the Chambon family, with the Duvault-Blochet descendants on the de Villaine side retaining the other 50 percent. The two-family structure has held without change for over eighty years, with Romanée-Saint-Vivant added through a 1966 lease from the Marey-Monge family and outright purchase in 1988, and Le Montrachet completing the white-wine flagship.

• Vineyard traced to 1232 as Abbey of Saint Vivant holding; renamed La Romanée by de Croonembourg in 1631; Romanée-Conti name fixed by Prince Louis François of Conti in 1760
• Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet purchased Romanée-Conti at auction in 1869 and consolidated the multi-parcel estate, adding Richebourg, Grands-Échezeaux, Échezeaux, and La Tâche
• Henri Leroy bought the Chambon-side 50 percent stake in 1942, creating the de Villaine and Leroy co-ownership that has held without change since
• Romanée-Saint-Vivant leased from the Marey-Monge family in 1966 and purchased outright in 1988; Le Montrachet completed the white-wine flagship in the same period

The portfolio is entirely Grand Cru. Two monopoles anchor it: Romanée-Conti itself, 1.81 hectares of mid-slope marl at the heart of Vosne-Romanée, producing approximately 5,000 to 6,000 bottles a year; and La Tâche, 6.06 hectares including the historic La Tâche climat plus the Les Gaudichots parcel consolidated into the Grand Cru after a 1932 court ruling, producing approximately 20,000 bottles. The non-monopole reds are Richebourg (3.51 ha, around 12,000 bottles), Romanée-Saint-Vivant (5.29 ha, around 18,000 bottles), Grands-Échezeaux (3.53 ha, around 14,000 bottles), Échezeaux (4.67 ha, around 16,000 bottles), and a small Corton parcel that produced its first vintage in 2009 from leased holdings consolidated under a multi-year arrangement with the prior tenant families. The lone white is Le Montrachet at 0.68 hectares, producing roughly 3,000 bottles annually. From the 2019 vintage the domaine added a leased Corton-Charlemagne plot from Domaine Bonneau du Martray, which was purchased by Stan Kroenke in 2017 and now leases the parcel back to the domaine on long-term terms.

• Two monopoles: Romanée-Conti (1.81 ha, ~5,000 to 6,000 bottles) and La Tâche (6.06 ha including consolidated Les Gaudichots, ~20,000 bottles)
• Non-monopole reds: Richebourg (3.51 ha), Romanée-Saint-Vivant (5.29 ha), Grands-Échezeaux (3.53 ha), Échezeaux (4.67 ha), plus a small leased Corton parcel from the 2009 vintage
• Le Montrachet (0.68 ha, ~3,000 bottles) is the sole still-white Grand Cru; Corton-Charlemagne added from 2019 via a leased Bonneau du Martray parcel under the Kroenke ownership
• Total estate production is 6,000 to 8,000 cases across all cuvées combined; allocations route through a small global merchant network that has changed little in fifty years

The estate converted to organic farming in 1985 under Aubert de Villaine's direction, well before the late-1990s and early-2000s biodynamic shift that pulled most of the Côte d'Or's prestige domaines onto the certification track. Biodynamic trials began in the 1990s on selected parcels, and the full estate completed biodynamic conversion in 2007 with Biodyvin certification awarded in 2017. Yields run approximately 25 hectoliters per hectare against the 35 hl/ha maximum the appellation permits, achieved through short cordon de Royat or Guyot pruning, severe early thinning, and selective green harvest in late July or early August. Soil amendments are limited to composted vine prunings, grape pomace, and fermentation lees; copper and sulfur applications follow biodynamic schedules. Horses have been reintroduced to plow Romanée-Conti and Le Montrachet to avoid the compaction associated with tractor passage; the other Grand Crus are worked by light tractor in dry conditions. Plant material is propagated through massal selection from the estate's own vines, preserving the Pinot Fin genetic profile across replanting cycles.

• Organic since 1985 under Aubert de Villaine; biodynamic conversion completed 2007; Biodyvin certified 2017
• Average yields approximately 25 hl/ha versus the Grand Cru maximum of 35 hl/ha; achieved through short pruning, severe early thinning, and selective green harvest
• Horses plow Romanée-Conti and Le Montrachet to avoid soil compaction; light tractors work the other Grand Crus in dry conditions
• Massal selection from estate vines preserves the Pinot Fin genetic profile; no clonal selection at replanting

Vinification is minimal and consistent across all cuvées. Whole-cluster fermentation runs at 100 percent for the reds in most vintages, with very limited destemming permitted in challenging years. Indigenous yeasts ferment the fruit in open wooden vats with light foot-treading and minimal pumping over, with cap management by pigeage rather than remontage. The fermentation runs for two to three weeks, with maceration extending up to four weeks depending on vintage. The wines drain to barrel for the malolactic conversion and the start of élevage, with a 100 percent new oak regime from François Frères and other Burgundy coopers, run for 16 to 20 months depending on cuvée. Bottling occurs without fining and with very light filtration only in vintages that require it. The white Le Montrachet ferments and ages in barrel through 18 to 20 months on full lees. The cellar discipline produces wines that are pale, perfumed, and structured rather than dense or extracted; the house style favors silken texture and aromatic transparency over weight, and the wines need 15 to 25 years to reach their tertiary peak in the best vintages.

• 100 percent whole-cluster fermentation in most red vintages; indigenous yeasts; light foot-treading and pigeage in open wooden vats
• Maceration runs two to four weeks depending on vintage; wines drain to barrel for malolactic and 16 to 20 months élevage
• 100 percent new oak from François Frères and other Burgundy coopers; bottling without fining, with very light filtration only when required
• Pale, perfumed, structured house style favoring silken texture and aromatic transparency; wines need 15 to 25 years to reach tertiary peak

Aubert de Villaine co-directed the domaine from 1974 to January 2022, sharing operational control first with Lalou Bize-Leroy until her departure in 1992 and then with Henry-Frédéric Roch until Roch's death in 2018. Perrine Fenal, Lalou Bize-Leroy's daughter, joined the leadership alongside Aubert in 2018 and took full co-director responsibilities in January 2022 alongside Bertrand de Villaine, Aubert's nephew, who joined the domaine in 2008. Aubert continues in an advisory role. The 2015 UNESCO World Heritage inscription of the Burgundy climats, which Aubert led from the domaine's institutional position, remains the late-career achievement that crowned his tenure. The wines occupy the apex of the secondary market: a 1945 Romanée-Conti sold for $558,000 at Sotheby's New York in October 2018, a world record for a standard-format bottle; a 2005 La Tâche magnum reached €35,000 at Sotheby's Beaune in 2024; five domaine cuvées placed in the global top-ten most-valuable wines list compiled annually by Wine-Searcher through 2023 and 2024. Allocations route through the domaine's traditional merchant network with multi-year customer relationships required; the cohort that defines the apex tier of Burgundy collecting alongside the domaine includes Leroy, Roumier, Rousseau, Vogüé, Mugnier, Liger-Belair, and Méo-Camuzet, with Coche-Dury and Leflaive providing the parallel reference at the white-Burgundy summit.