TN: Domaine de la Romanee Conti 2018 Tasting

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to taste the 2018 line up. I hope these notes are helpful.

  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Domaine Prince Florent de Merode
    Strong tannins. Good alcohol. Bright with a bit of tart (almost like salt). Cherry core. A bit 1-dimensional (due to the front-and-center fruit) but very enjoyable. I would bring this to a big cab dinner as a good alternative; a more velvet hammer if you will.
  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux
    Not very giving on the nose, somewhat tight on the palate. Light-to-medium weight with good structure. Some heat on the finish - feeling more of the alcohol on this one.
  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux
    More luxurious and robust than the Echezeaux but not out of balance. Good control throughout the wine. Not a ton of alcohol or tannins but it is there underneath. This wine lands a lot of material well.
  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg
    Next level from the first 4 (C, Ech, Gr Ech, RSV) and probably my favorite on the day of all 7. This is a gregarious wine. Explosive flavors, showing many levels of fruit and some spices which add to the dimensionality of the wine. While obviously shiny and new, it didn’t feel immature. Great stuff.
  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant
    This is a different level of complexity from the Corton, Ech, and GE. The RSV floral character is there with a bit more structure and a little spice. I found the mix led to a two-staged flavor crescendo that was quite pleasing. The increased power of this wine does lead me to want to put it in a different weight class which, in a way, detracts from the classic elegance this was has come to settle into over the past 10 or so years.
  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche
    For many in the room, this was there favorite of 2018 lineup, while for me I think the Richebourg was better on the day, though the La Tache hints at future greatness. The wine is at a perfect pitch: not out of balance, the fruit (while it will need time to integrate) feels like it well woven, and the layers of flavor feel streamlined. Great texture on the mouth: the power of the vintage does not interrupt the smoothness of the wine. Beautiful.
  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti
    In a word, I found this wine mystical. It left me pondering much longer than any of the other wines in the lineup; a spell of time only matched by the length of the finish. On the nose, I found it almost savory. It was like a bit of salted butter on top of a warm brioche. Unexpected. The flavors and texture were just sublime with a bit of everything floral and spice supported by nice tannins. A joyful and contemplative experience.
  • 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet
    The first thing that came to mind when I tasted this wine was Riesling: it has glycerin sensibility that is the hallmark of dry Rieslings without the heavy bout of acidity. This was as lot of fun and showed the rich opulence Montrachet is known for with an unexpected flavor profile. Fun.

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Given the quality of the wines and the stage of their development, I am hesitant to “score” them. Also, if you know me, I think scoring is extremely hard to do well so I wouldn’t take these numbers as very comparable to other wines (for example, I am sure I’ve rated a wine 96pts before that I thought wasn’t as good as the Corton, for example). That said, here is my attempt (today / potential):
Corton (93 / 94-95)
Ech (92 / 94)
GE (94 / 95)
RSV (93 / 94)
Rich (97 / 97)
La Tache (95 / 98)
Romanee Conti (?? / 99?)
Montrachet (93 / ??)

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Thanks! Always fun to read notes like this. Are you suggesting the Montrachet is a lesser wine in 2018, perhaps without the structure to age gracefully?

Thx for the notes!

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Welcome!

Lesser is not usually a word I ever use around these wines and, truly, I am not sure where this wine will go. It’s pretty different than any other I’ve had. I just hope I get the chance to check in on it again in 10 or so years.

Not many wines leave you with the impression Romanee Conti does. Yes, I am sure there are a few far and between…Nice tasting.

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One of my greatest tastings ever…all the 2008 DRC! What a treat to be able to taste all the current release DRC in one sitting. This was my virgin voyage into DRC…and my take on it was…ALL the wines had this amazing and captivating exotic spice to them…such purity and class…I was like…“I can get out cheap here as I am in awe of these wines, and can get a basic entry fee with the ECH…and STILL get the DRC experience…even like the RC$$”! The hierarchy is real though…I like you found the Riche the best wine of the tasting…had it all, then some…the LT was a sleeping monster…killer, yet there was SO much deepness lurking in there…the RC…not he best wine on the table…but the one that sat you back…you took a deep breath and a sigh…then the contemplation started…SO elegant and pretty…like a gorgeous woman walking by…you stop everything to take it all in…a true pleasure. Then…my most anticipated wine of the night…the full MONTY! I remember calling out…“are you f-ning KIDDING me??” The wine was HUGE…buttery, tropical…over the top! Not what I expected…plenty of citrus and minerality to balance out that buttered popcorn, botrytis richness…yet it will take many years for all that to come together. The wines “needs” 10 years to come together…it’s not a wine I would want to drink at that stage, but in 10+…it will be an amazing experience! Unfortunately haven’t been able to try that wine again since. Would love to see if my premonition was correct!

Congrats on the tasting! [cheers.gif]

I love the energy! Sounds a lot like what last night felt like.

Thanks again

Here is my personal opinion. Nothing more and nothing less…but just an opinion of how I perceived them in an honest way. I took part for a few times of the annual event of all six reds ( not Corton at that time ) during the mid 1990s. They were served non-blind. The pours were acceptable. No wines shows anything other they are young red at the beginning, 30 to 40 minutes later some began to become mute. After swirling, the Echezeau may open up. I stopped participating.

It was not just me, some of my friends who were also there agree that it is a waste of time and waste of money to open…G-Ech, Riche, RStV LT and RC at 3 barely 3 years old. This kind of tasting perhaps has meaning at age 5 but best to open them at least age 10. I am sure DRC wines are always wonderful…regardless the vintage general characters. My best LT will always be from 1994 ( or perhaps 2000) for the reason…you do not need to wait for too long for them to reach the maximum showing. I am always of the opinion : when to open a red burgundy is also a key in enjoying it.

I would like to repeat : it is my personal view. Serving them at age 3 perhaps is good for persons with lots of experience in barrel-tasting or wine tastings at a very young age or people in that particular trade.

Am I saying that one should not take part in annual DRC release tasting. No - on contrary, one should, if you are lucky enough to get a chance. We only live once… [cheers.gif]

I think the 18s, in particular, were pretty giving on the night but most years I’d expect a similar experience to yours (like the La Tache, for me, gave me very little). I will say, tasting and then moving on to more mature wines from the Domaine was a fun comparison.

And, as you said, you only live once!

One thing to add - they were always serve them non-blind because few will be able to pick which is : RC. pileon

Haha - I’d be up for the challenge. Even if I fail I think I win [cheers.gif]

Alex…you will not fail. Here is a little secret but do not tell anyone.

Here is what we normal do in wine blind tasting contest. For example if there are 7 reds placed in front of you, you should be given 7 piece of of blank papers and then you will write down on the sheet of paper to say which bottle is which. Am I right ?

For your next year annual DRC 2019 tasting, suggest to the organizer that you would like to do the above exercise with only your 7 red wines - in this event - will be served blind to you.

Tell him that you have so many experience in drinking RC, you could close your eyes and just by smell it, you will definite identify correctly the RC. If you will, you do not pay. If you are wrong you will pay the full cost of each of bottles of the 7 red DRC served that evening.

If the organizer agrees with everything I said above, please let me know and I will tell you the secret how to win !!

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Thank you very much for sharing. Your tasting notes were a pleasure to read. Sounds like a wonderful evening and a once in a lifetime opportunity!

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Peter,
That is quite the tease, please tell us your secret re the RC. Thanks in advance.
-paul

Paul…thanks for asking. Let examine closely the contest rules.

*****There is what we normal do in wine blind tasting contest. For example if there are 7 reds placed in front of you, you should be given 7 piece of of blank papers and then you will write down on the sheet of paper to say which bottle is which. Am I right ? ****

Then…we will look at what you told the organizer :

*…tell him that you have so many experience in drinking RC, you could close your eyes and just by smell it, you will definite identify correctly the RC. If you will, you do not pay. If you are wrong you will pay the full cost of each of bottles of the 7 red DRC served that evening.

In other words, you will wine the context…as long as you could identity the RC - hat is the only main point. In other words, there is no need for you to say…which is LT…and …which is RC.


7 red wine glasses in front of you and your were given 7 pieces of blank papers to vote which one is RC. Now…just before you start to write - tell the organizer that your wife was not happy for the contest. It is nor far. How about …change it to …2 chances.

Whether the organizer agreed or not. It does not matter.

If you sincerely believer No. 3 have a 50% chance ( or perhaps No. 4 has a 30% chance).

You should just complete all the 7 pieces of blank paper with the words : RC. Then fold them all up…and place them all in front of the 7 glasses.

Then…you ask the organizer to open the folded-up paper in front of the Glass No 3 first.

Hope you are right ! If yes…then you should secretly took back all the 6 other pieces of paper and do not let anyone see them. Hope the same will happen next year.

If the organizer allowed you to have …2 chances ( instead of only 1 )…and you were wrong with Glass No. 3…then point to No. 4 to open it next.

The expected value of this approach is definitely not higher than the cost of the individual entry fee!

It is called : the Rudy’s approach… pileon