Domaine de la Romanée Conti is co-owned by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families, the former successors to Jacques-Marie Duvault Blochet who bought the vineyard of La Romanée Conti in 1869, the latter since acquiring the shares of other descendants of Duvault-Blochet in 1942. The Domaine is today run by Aubert de Villaine and Henri-Frederic Roch. Many people in Burgundy just refer to ‘DRC’ as “the Domaine”.
The domaine has 30 hectares of vineyards, all Grand Crus. As well as the the 1.8 hectare monopole La Romanée Conti, the Domaine purchased its other monopoly, La Tâche, in 1933, along with significant holdings in the grand crus of Richebourg, Romanée St Vivant, Grands-Echezeaux, Echezeaux, and Le Montrachet at various points in the 19th and 20th centuries. Corton was added in 2009 with Corton-Charlemagne to be released in 2018. The Domaine is the largest owners of each of the red wine grand crus.
97 Points Allen Meadows
Subtle wood influence can be found on the equally ripe, airy and gorgeously elegant nose of black cherry, cassis, exotic tea and an almost endless range of spice elements. There is unusually good volume and punch to the lavishly rich, even opulent, medium weight plus flavors that coat the palate with sappy dry extract on the highly energetic and very powerful finish. This is also quite firmly structured and 2019 is relatively big and muscular vintage for the RSV. With that said, I suspect that the hallmark finesse and refinement will eventually reveal themselves with extended time in bottle. I would add that I thought this was marvelous from barrel but it’s even better now that it’s in bottle.
97+ Points Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 2019 Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru wafts from the glass with breathtaking aromas of raspberries and strawberries mingled with bergamot, Indian spices, peonies and rose petals. Full-bodied, vibrant and perfumed, it’s finer boned than the more muscular Grands-Échézeaux, with a bright spine of acidity and beautifully refined tannins, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. Striking for its purity and elegance, my handwritten notes include the phrase “pure sensuality.”