Lovely article…….
It’s certainly not a “Domaine” de la Romanée-Conti (the DRC was founded only in 1911 I think), but a wine from the vineyard of Romanée-Conti (hopefully), owned by the Duvault-Blochet family.
I’m getting paywalled.
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???
It’s open for everybody.
Paywall here, must be your region allows full access
Sorry, I was not aware of that.
Open it on your phone and switch to “reader” mode in your browser.
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Appreciate the help
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Fun little hack that works more often than you would think 
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Thanks for that. Although I was put off by this in the opening paragraphs: “…from one of Burgundy’s most revered vineyards, the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC).”
Need better editing!
Maybe @William_Kelley has more interesting notes to add?
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Very cool that they opened it!
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Agreed. Wine should not be the equivalent of trailer queens.
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Hi Andrew!
Sure, happy to. I had to open the bottle, in fact, as everyone else was too stressed out to do it, and using very basic tools at that. It was an original cork, and the bottle had only travelled twice in its history.
It was very pale in color, as is often the case with wines of this age, but with no noticeable volatile acidity, ethanal, sotolon or any of the other things that you can get at this sort of age, so the cork had done its job well. Aromas were in the pot pourri/flowers/spices register, with some subtle plummy fruit, and the palate was vinous and totally melted, with a very harmonious balance and no fraying on the finish (drying/raspy/firey finishes can be an issue with very old wines that are cracking up). The real test was that it held up great in the glass, and even the empty glass was excellent after a few hours - so it wasn’t the Griswold family turkey, if I may be permitted the reference. I have had less “venerable” 19th-century wines, often from the 1865 vintage which I think deserves its reputation as the best-ever, but this really was a lovely experience and I’m glad it was opened and not put on display somewhere.
It was bottled by Duvault Blochet’s heirs, as he was dead at this stage, but before the founding of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti as Paul observes.
This was the first time Aubert de Villaine tasted a 19th-century RC, so it was quite special to share that moment with him.
Best,
William
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What tools did you use to open it?
basic corkscrew with a plastic-coated screw and a pair of tweezers borrowed from the chef (the cork was strongly adhered to the inside of the glass towards the base) - all that they had at the restaurant!
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