Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, referred to as “DRC”, is one of the famous wineries in Burgundy. In addition to owning Romanee-Conti, it also owns two vineyards, La Tache, as well as vineyards such as Richebourg and Romanee-Saint-Vivant. ), Echezeaux (Echezeaux) and Grands Echezeaux (Grands Echezeaux) and other other Grand Cru vineyards. It is considered one of the most expensive wines in the world and is known for its richness, complexity and longevity. The winery’s wines usually use vine grapes with very small yields, and the grapes are strictly selected during brewing. Of course, a late harvest, the quality of the plot and careful brewing are all secrets of success.

Romanee-Conti Vineyard is located on the west side of the village of Vosne-Romanée. It is one of the vineyards owned exclusively by Romanee Winery. It is one of the oldest vineyards in France, and its origins can be traced back to the medieval St. -Abbey of Saint-Vivant. The Abbey of St. Vivian de Vergy was built around 900 AD by King Manasseh I of Vergy and is located next to the Château de Vergy. The Castle of Deveghi was built in the 7th century on the top of Mont Varge, facing the Côte de Nuits. The monastery was built by Cisterciens monks in the 12th century. The monastery is famous for grape growing and wine making. In 1232, the Burgundian princess Alix de Vergy obtained the benefits of grape cultivation and harvesting by owning the monastery land. In the 13th century, the Abbey of St. Vivian purchased and received donations of several plots of land. In October 1276, Yves de Chasans, the then abbot, purchased another piece of land, including what is now the Romanee-Conti winery.

By 1512, the Abbey of Saint-Vivin owned 4 pieces of land, that is to say, 4 “Cloux” (Cloux), called “Clos” in modern French. From 1512 to 1584, the name of the Domaine de la Romanée vineyard was changed to Cros des Cloux. On February 19, 1584, the winery owned by Cros des Cloux was sold and changed hands several times. On August 28, 1631, the winery was acquired by the Crenneburg family. In 1651, the winery was renamed La Romanee. Under the rule of the Kronborg family, Romanee’s reputation grew, and the price of wine soared. Except for the Montrachet production area, the price of Romanee-Conti’s wine is 5 to 6 times that of the surrounding excellent wineries.

In 1760, the Kronborg family fell into debt and was forced to sell Romanee-Conti, by which time it was recognized as the most famous winery in Burgundy. The two rivals who owned the chateau were both celebrities at the time: one was Louis Francois de Bourbon of the Bourbon dynasty, a cousin of the then French King Louis XV; Known as Prince de Conti; the other was closely related to Mme de Pompadour, the mistress of the power struggle at the time. After fierce competition, the winery was eventually owned by Prince Conti, which became the source of the name of the winery – La Romanee Conti (La Romanee Conti).

In 1789, when the French Revolution broke out, the Conti family was expelled and lost ownership of the winery and vineyards. After 1794, Romanee-Conti changed hands many times. In 1869, the chateau was purchased by wine expert Jacques Marie Duvault Blochet for 260,000 francs. Thanks to the efforts of the Duval Brochet family, Romanée-Conti has become the top winery in Burgundy and even the world. In 1942, Henri Leroy bought back half of Romanée-Conti from the Duval Brochet family. Since then, Chateau Romanée-Conti has been jointly owned by two families.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that although the winery is going well today, it has also suffered disasters. In the 1860s, the frost bug (phylloxera) invaded France, which brought the winery to the brink of crisis. It only escaped disaster by using expensive chemical fertilizers. In 1945, due to spring hail and the impact of World War II, the vines in the vineyard were severely damaged. New seedlings were planted at the neighboring La Tachy vineyard, but in order to maintain the quality of the wine, no Romanee was produced for the next six years. Conti wine.

Today, Romanée-Conti’s vineyards adopt natural cultivation methods and are very strictly managed. The grape harvest is very small, with about 10,000 grapevines planted per hectare. On average, every three grapevines can produce one bottle of wine, and the output of each bottle of wine at a famous winery like Chateau Lafite is only 1/50. In this winery, no one else is allowed to enter or leave the vineyard during the grape harvest. Skilled workers pick the grapes one by one and send them to brewing after strict screening. The barrels used for brewing are made from naturally-seasoned new oak.

Romanée-Conti is extremely expensive and is known as the “billionaire’s wine.” Robert Parker, known as the “Wine King”, gave Romanee-Conti high scores of over 90 points every year, and the 2005 vintage received high scores of 99 to 100 points. Today, Romanee-Conti is extremely rare on the market. The winery does not sell it alone. It usually needs to be purchased together with other wines from the winery, and often only 12 bottles can be purchased. Romanée-Conti is considered a legendary wine of mystery and elegance.