Richebourg Grand Cru Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1996

Lot presentation

Richebourg Grand Cru Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1996

The wine

The Richebourg is one of the best crus in Vosne-Romanée and lies on calcareous clayey soil. These are both powerful and charming wines: robust, well-structured and harmonious. They develop intense aromas, typical for fine Burgundies: ripe or candied red and dark fruits, musk, leather and humus. A lingering and fabulously rich aroma are what make this cru one of the world's greatest wines. Several decades of cellaring are often required for this wine to reach its best. The exceptional concentration of the Richebourg from the Domaine de la Romanée Conti is due to a perfect vinification and maturing. The meticulous care and attention given to these vineyards was such that they were among the last Burgundies that managed to resist phylloxera, until 1946.

The name Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, also affectionately known as DRC, is enough to make all wine lovers worldwide tremble in awe. In 1760, Prince Louis-Francois de Bourbon-Conti bought a piece of land in Vosne-Romanée, planted by the predecessors of Saint-Vivant, before dying in 1776. It was confiscated during the Revolution and sold to the highest bidder in 1794. Then the 1.8 hectare plot was renamed Romanée-Conti and its name was given to the most prestigious domaines of Burgundy. In 1879, Jacques-Marie Duvault Blochet bought this property and it is Henry-Frédéric Roch, Lalou Bize-Leroy and its director, Aubert de Villaine who own it today. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has 25 hectares of vines in Vosne, mainly in the grand crus of the commune: La Tâche, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Richebourg, Echezeaux, Grands-Echézeaux and of course La Romanée-Conti. In the Côte de Beaune, the domaine has recently acquired three farms in Corton, in addition to its legendary Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet vines (small, non-marketed production). Although La Romanée-Conti is at the heart of the estate, its other grand crus are irreproachable due to the work carried out both in the vineyard (biodynamic) and in the winery (where whole grape harvests are vinified). The yields are extremely low and some wines such as Montrachet are not dated yearly as the quantities are too low (this was the case in 1992 and 2016). Its price clearly confirms its greatness.