Domaine de la Romanée- Conti 2008
The latest releases from this amazing Burgundy domaine
Corney & Barrow, 28th January 2011

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is one of the world’s greatest wine domains. It’s thrilling wines are scarily expensive – but even if you can afford them, the real issue is getting hold of them.

Fortunately, each year Corney & Barrow (www.corneyandbarrow.com)  – who have exclusivity of these wines in the UK – put on a tasting for trade and press, so those of us who aren’t exceedingly wealthy can assess the latest vintage. Today, they were showing the 2008s.

Now 2008 was a tricky vintage indeed, but the wines are still, as you would expect, remarkably good. It’s the sort of Burgundy vintage I like – paler colour, high acidity, lovely freshness. I think these wines will live for a long time, largely because of the lovely acidity they possess.

Richebourg was a bit odd. Still lovely, but with a slightly confected red cherry character to the fruit, and very firm yet fine-grained structure. Echézeaux and Grands Echézeaux were more dark cherry in fruit profile, and quite expressive, with some nice greenness – and the latter showing quite firm structure.

Romanée-St-Vivant was exotic and open, with stern spiciness and green sappy notes reining in the exuberant fruit. Real potential. La Tache was stern, spicy, grippy and in need of a lot of patience – probably the most backward wine in the line-up. Romanée-Conti was the highlight, with spellbinding complexity, and a nice tension between the sweet fruit and the green, spicy, savoury notes.

It’s not the most seductive line-up from DRC, but 2008 looks like a beautifully fresh, savoury year that will reward patience, and should be more to the tastes of real Burgundy lovers than point-chasing status drinkers, who might find the wines a bit difficult.

What would I buy? Echézeaux (£175 a bottle in bond) and Romanée-St-Vivant (£432.50/bottle) are the stand-outs. £1616.67 for a bottle of the Romanée-Conti is just a little too much.

THE WINES

DRC Echézeaux Grand Cru 2008
Sweet, almost profound dark cherry fruit nose with taut green herbal notes and subtle hints of tar and spice. There’s a savoury edge here. The plaate is fresh and beautifully supple with dark cherry fruit, taut spicy structure and subtle green notes. A really beautiful, expressive Burgundy with a nice, slightly green savouriness on the finish. 94/100

DRC Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru 2008
Dark cherry and herb nose with some roast coffee notes. Assertive dark cherry character. The palate is quite structured and savoury with some firmness to it. Light bodied but with elegance and freshness. Savoury, mineral edge to the palate with some greenness, and a grippy finish. There’s already some beauty here but this will need time to develop properly. 94/100

DRC Richebourg Grand Cru 2008
Enticing sweetness to the nose. Ripe, sweet and cherryish with sweet red berries and a surprising confectionary note. The palate is concentrated with fresh red berry fruit and red cherry notes. Very fresh with fine structure. A surprising wine, for its red berry/cherry fruit. 94/100

DRC Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru 2008
Lovely perfume here: black and red cherries, fine spices and savoury freshness. Already exotic and open. The palate has a pleasing green sappy quality and some stern spiciness, with fresh cherry fruit. Good acidity. Very pure with good structure. A complete wine that’s nicely savoury with real potential. 96/100

DRC La Tâche Grand Cru 2008
There’s a lovely stern spiciness to the nose here,  which shows earthy notes and some dark cherry and red berry fruit, as well as a bit of spicy, roasted oak. The palate has a stern, savoury character with a spicy quality under the fresh dark cherry and red berry fruit. Taut and in need of time, with savoury, grippy structure. 94/100

DRC Romanée Conti Grand Cru 2008
Beautifully complex, with sweet red cherry/berry fruits and some nice ethereal green notes. There nice tension between the fruit sweetness and the green, spicy, savoury notes. The palate is concentrated with sweet, expressive fruit and some sterner savoury notes. Lovely red cherry and berry fruit, as well as good acidity. Fresh and lively with delicate yet firm spicy structure. Structured and profound, this needs time. 97/100

Domaine de la Romanée Conti releases:

See also: Visiting Clos du Tart

Published 01/11
Wines tasted 01/11  

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