1978 Romanee-Conti

Dear wine friends,

I hate to admit that I have been stalking for a while, but learning a lot about fake bottles, especially from Don Cromwell in the process… [cheers.gif]

Here is a bottle about which I am questioning the authenticity (sorry, I cannot directly attach photos as a new user):

I note the “Mise du domaine” capsule label, which in my experience is not typical in 1978. All bottles I have seen have the vineyard designation on the capsule. Nontheless, please see below response from the Domaine… I sent them photos and asked if the bottle appears real. They said it appears real, and provided the response below when I asked explicitly about the capsule.

What do you think? Vrai ou faux?

Cheers,
Mike

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Cher Monsieur,

Notre chef de caves m’a chargée de vous dire qu’il est normal à cette époque que la mention « Mise du Domaine » soit apposée sur la bouteille du millésime 1978.

Cela a été changé quelques années après par « Romanée-Conti ». Nous n’avons pas de date exacte car nous avons peu d’archives écrites à ce sujet.

Cordialement,


Le Secrétariat

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
1, place de l’église
21700 Vosne-Romanée
tél : + 33 (0) 3 80 62 48 80

If it looks OK to the domaine, it should be OK! I would examine the capsule for any sign that it might have been removed…but it’s almost impossible to remove and then replace it without signs of tampering. Looks like you’ve got an expensive bottle there!

Interestingly, I had the following further interchange with DRC, in which I asked if this means there were two types of capsules used in 1978, both the vineyard-designated as well as the “Mise du Domaine” version. Their response basically says they don’t know, which makes me once again concerned about this bottle. Has anyone seen a “Mise du Domaine” capsule on any '78 DRC wine from your own cellar? I don’t have an RC, but all the others have vineyard designations on their capsules. The only '78 bottles I have seen with “Mise du domaine” are the fake ones from Baghera, posted by Don Cromwell here… This is obviously a super-expensive mistake to make… [oops.gif]

Monsieur,

Nous ne pouvons vous confirmer cela , mais il est possible qu’il y ait eu des mises avec deux sortes de capsules.
Comme nous vous l’avons dit nous avons très peu d’archives de cette période.

Cordialement,

Le Secrétariat

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
1, place de l’église
21700 Vosne-Romanée

tél : + 33 (0) 3 80 62 48 80


Envoyé : lundi 16 octobre 2017 20:28
À : contact@romanee-conti.fr
Objet : Re: 1978 Romanée-Conti


Cher Monsieur ou Madame,


Merci pour votre avis réponse. Pour confirmer, est-il vrai que 1978 Romanée-Conti a été mis en bouteille avec les deux types de capsule? Par exemple, s’il vous plaît voir la bouteille ci-joint, qui je crois être une vraie bouteille. Celui-ci a la désignation de vignoble sur la capsule.

Merci de votre aide. Bien sûr, je suis intéressé de m’assurer d’acheter une bouteille qui n’est pas fausse!

You are thinking about a purchase? If you have any doubts pass. My only experience with this bottle had the vineyard on the capsule.

Thencapsule reminds me of Vogue. Echo the above comment, if there is an iota of doubt, then pass. Too risky for that bottle tariff.

Frankly for a bottle like this if the owner wasn’t original purchaser and have a bill for it, I’d pass. Even when these were released they were incredibly expensive for the time for a bottle of wine and people would have kept records.

Hi Mike.
The answers from the Domaine, are not any good. They actually just say they are not sure.

The capsule is not nice.
DRC changed to designated caps from 1975 vintage.

It’s hard to imagine DRC running out of new caps, and then use old-stock caps for the last 2000 bottles of 1978 RC (serial number 4416/6535).

The main label is very scratched and fuzzy and looks “used”, the Leroy label also! -The neck-label looks pristine?
The special capsule also looks very pristine, -no dents or corrosion and perfectly tight.
Signs that should raise some suspicion by its own.

Check this post #7480, where Don Cornwell explains about some similar capsuled 1978 RC bottles (Rudy/Lazar).

“The most obviously incorrect feature of the Kurniawan/Lazar bottles of 1978 Romanée Conti is the capsules. Authentic 1978 DRC wines had vineyard-designated capsules; whereas these bottles have the older style “Mise Du Domaine” capsules.”

(scroll to post 7480.)

-Not a bottle i would like to buy, no matter the price.

-Regards, Soren.

Mike , I have a picture of a Conti 1978 . Indeed , “ my “ capsule is different . It is of darker red color and it says Romanee Conti .
Interestingly , my picture also shows a Conti from 1966 , this capsule mentions mise au domaine .
Confusing , right ? I’ll post the picture when I return to Belgium on Saturday , I don’t know how to do that ( my son does… ).

Herwig, the 1966 is fitted with the “Mise du Domaine”. -They changed the capsules after 1974 vintage.
Your pics. sounds correct.

From the Domaine
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It’d be worth hiring an authentication expert, Maureen Downey or another. That way you’re unlikely to get a fake or miss a potentially great bottle.

I can’t add anything substantive, but Benchmark Wines in Napa just listed a bottle of '78 RC for sale, and they have a pretty iron-clad provenance guarantee (although in this case I would definitely get a reaffirmation in writing regarding this bottle).

No affiliations, other than buying a couple of bottles from them.

Here it is

The Sixty Minutes fake wine story showed Bill Koch examining a presumably fake magnum of ‘78 RC. It had the “mise du domaine” capsule.

The only 1978 RD I’ve ever had, which came from the original owner with impeccable provenance, had the vineyard designation on it and NOT the “mise du domaine” capsule for what it’s worth. I don’t know the serial number unfortunately.