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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpUb0esqxR8/UjaFPbWvqQI/AAAAAAAAMME/5obVbuvyldg/s1600/romanee+conti+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpUb0esqxR8/UjaFPbWvqQI/AAAAAAAAMME/5obVbuvyldg/s400/romanee+conti+2.jpg" /></a></div><P> <i>The second of two parts about Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. Located in the Burgundy region of France DRC is one of the world's greatest wine producers. The quantity produced is minuscule, the quality is substantial and the prices commensurate.  </i><P> In Friday's post we climbed the first four peaks of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti: Grand Crus La Romanee-Conti, La Tache, Richebourg and Romanee-Saint-Vivant. This second part ascends the Grand Cru steeps of Grands-Echezeaux, Echezeaux, Corton; and the lower peak of Vosne-Romanee, Premier Cru, Cuvee Duvault-Blochet. <P> The commune Flagey-Echezeaux is contiguous with Vosne-Romanee.  In it lie two Grand Cru vineyards: Echezeaux and Grands-Echezeaux; the other wines are labeled Vosne-Romanee.  In general, Grands-Echezeaux is the richer, fuller wine; and Echezeaux the more varied in quality. Grands-Echezeaux is the smaller of the two vineyards; its 9.1 hectares (22.2 acres) is divided amongst 21 owners.  <P> Domaine de la Romanee-Conti is the largest owner with 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres). DRC’s 2009 Grand-Echezeaux emits a smoked meat, blackberry and black pepper scents, and releases deliciously rich black fruit flavors with supple tannins and acidity.  The composition makes this wine instantly appealing. The 2010 is more red fruit driven.  Strawberry and raspberry aromas and flavors dominate the senses, and a mineral feel follows the fruit across the palate.  This vintage is more delicate than the 2009 Grands-Echezeaux. The 2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands-Echezeaux retails for about $1,400 the bottle.  The 2010 Grands-Echezeaux is about $100 dollars less. <P> At 37.7 hectares (92 acres), the Grand Cru Echezeaux vineyard is the second largest in the Cotes de Nuits, after Clos de Vougeot.  And like its larger neighbor, quality varies, but not nearly as much as in Clos de Vougeot. Domaine de la Romanee’s portion of Echezeaux is 4.67 hectares (11.4 acres).  Its 2009 has the smoked meat or bacon scent that appears in various degrees throughout DRC’s 2009 wines.  Mixed with it, is a black cherry aroma that produces a captivating fragrance.  Combine the aromas with the savory blackberry-flavored fruit and a tad of vanilla from new oak barrels and you have a delicious wine.  All of it is carried on soft tannins and balanced acidity, making the 2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux an outstanding wine.<P> The 2010 DRC Echezeaux is a streamlined version of the 2009. Black cherry, plum and cinnamon scents are the introduction, followed by tasty raspberry and black cherry flavors.  Proportional tannins and acidity give the 2010 DRC Echezeaux an elegant texture and pleasing finish. The 2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux retails at about $800 a bottle, and about $850 for the 2010 DRC Echezeaux.<P> Domaine de la Romanee-Conti’s newest Grand Cru is in the Corton appellation, DRC’s only Cote de Beaune red wine. (It also owns in the Cote de Beaune a sliver of Le Montrachet, the greatest chardonnay vineyard on earth; but here we focus on DRC’s red wines). As noted in part one, after the death of the Prince and Princess de Merode, the family rented their vineyards to Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. Their 2.3 hectares in Corton (5.6 acres) is only slightly bigger than the La Romanee-Conti vineyard. Managing director Aubert de Villaine said DRC is going to blend the grapes from the three Grand Cru vineyards it is leasing: Corton Clos du Roi, Corton Bressandes and Corton Les Renardes, until the younger vines achieved a sufficient level of maturity.  After that, Villaine plans to bottle each Grand Cru vineyard separately.<P> I am very familiar with these Cortons as I’ve been drinking and collecting the Cortons of Prince de Merode since the early 1980s. About a year ago, I finished my last bottle of the 1996 Prince de Merode Corton Bressandes.  I always carried them on my restaurants’ wine lists, and visited the home of the Prince de Merode twice.<P> I can report that the Cortons of Prince de Merode were always charming and pleasing, but rarely remarkable.  They were exceedingly well-priced, giving the buyer good value.  At their very best, the Cortons provided pleasure for 20 years.  But more often the wines started to fade as they became teenagers, and said goodbye around the 15th to 16th year.  The winemaker at that time was the NFL-size Pierre Bitouzet. <P> Since the start of this century, my tastings of Prince de Merode’s Cortons showed they were making more structured wines. One of the reasons I favored the Prince de Merode Cortons was personal.  I always remembered the diminutive Prince standing on a corner waving at my car as I tried to find my way through the village of Aloxe-Corton to his home in April 1987.  After picking him up on the street corner, we drove to his home, the 17th century moated castle Chateau de Serrigny for a tasting in the cellars, followed by lunch that included his petite Princess. For me, it was not just the wines; it was the graciousness and hospitality of the Merodes that made their wines more than a glass of Corton. <P> All of these memories were flooding within me as I picked up the glass of the 2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Corton Prince Florent de Merode. So it was an awakening when an earthy, beef and black fruit scented cloud rose from my glass.  What seemed like a basket of fresh picked black cherries filled my mouth, and the soft tannins and mellow acidity donated a long, lingering finish.  I was awed by the quality and structure that DRC has extracted from the Prince de Merode Corton vineyards.  The 2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Corton Prince Florent de Merode is prima facie evidence that DRC is able to make Burgundian wine at a level above anyone else. <P> In 2010, DRC delivered a Corton Prince Florent de Merode that accentuated the vintage’s red fruit character.  Cranberry, cinnamon and white pepper populates the aroma; and very flavorful strawberry, raspberry and cranberry flavors line the delicate texture of this wine.  One clearly sees how the weather made its imprint on 2010, and just as assuredly, you perceive DRC’s ability to produce a first-rate wine in such a vintage. You can point directly to DRC’s decision to use only grapes from the vines planted in the late 1940s as the reason its Corton Prince de Merode has the intensity in 2009 and finesse in 2010.  The grapes from the younger vines-15 to 25 years old- were sold; most producers use, not sell, grapes from vines that age. The 2009 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Corton Prince Florent de Merode retails for about $1,000; the 2010 is about $1,200. <P> The Himalayas have peaks, lower ranges and foothills. Burgundy’s structure mirrors that format with its Grand Cru, Premier Cru and appellation levels.  Domaine de la Romanee-Conti has created its own lower peak called Vosne-Romanee, Premier Cru, Cuvee Duvault-Blochet. At 80-years old, Monsieur Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet purchased La Romanee-Conti vineyard in 1869.  He added it to his portfolio of Grand Cru vineyards in Richebourg, Grands Echezeaux and Echezeaux, along with a collection of 1er Cru vineyards.  He was the most important vineyard owner in Burgundy at the time of his death in 1874. And since his time, no one has ever owned such a vineyard portfolio.  The Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet honors the founder of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. It was first made in the 1930s from grapes of younger vines of their Grand Cru vineyards. If the wine does not have the quality that DRC demands, it is sold in bulk; recent vintages of this cuvee are 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. To be expected, the 2009 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet is lighter on the palate that the Grand Crus.  Its floral and cherry fragrance is underlined with white pepper, and the medium-body is extremely attractive with its strawberry, cherry and vanilla flavored composition. A backbone of acidity and mild tannins give this wine excellent balance and a pleasurable finish. The 2009 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet retails for about $800 a bottle. <P> Hindus and Buddhists have sacred beliefs about the Himalayas; worshipers of Burgundy wines feel the same way about Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.  Thousands of Buddhists monks, including the Dali Lama live in the Himalayas; Hindus believe the god of snow, Himavat, is personified in the Himalayas.  And nirvana has been found by climbers in the peaks of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.<P> <div style="text-align: right;">Words by <a href="http://www.thewineodyssey.com/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Foy</a></div> <P><div class="feedflare">
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