Domaine Romanée Conti (DRC) - Marc de Bourgogne 1949

Probably the most famous domaine in Burgundy is the epitome of red Burgundy and bears the glamorous name Domaine Romanée Conti (DRC). The estate is located to the east of the village of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the Côte d'Or wine-growing region. The history of Domaine Romanée Conti dates back to the Roman Empire. Records date back to 1232, with ownership changing hands only nine times during this period. The Romanée vineyard was planted exclusively with Pinot Noir grapes by the monks of Staint-Vivant (Benedictine monks) and is still the same size today as it was back then. In the 17th century, aristocrats began to take an interest in the vineyard and the estate, which led to a dispute between Louis François of Bourbon-Conti and Mrs de Pompadour in 1760. The Romanee region then fell to Louis François of Bourbon-Conti. As a result, the prince added his name Conti to the vineyard site and thus the term Romanée Conti was coined. The owner owned the Domaine Romanée Conti from 1760 to 1793 and the Domaine Romanée Conti reached another milestone in 1942 when Mr de Villaine, grandson of Mr Davault, who had owned the Domaine since 1869, took over the management of the estate. However, he was not the sole owner at the time, as the Domaine Romanée Conti was shared with the Leroy family. In the same decade, the decision was made to replant the entire 18-hectare estate. Until then, it was still planted with ungrafted vines. In 1945, the owners of Domaine Romanée Conti decided to uproot and replant the vineyards due to the further decline in yields, which in the end totalled just under 500 bottles. As a result, no wine was produced from the Romanée Conti monopollage between 1946 and 1951. Before the final clearing of the vineyard, plant material was removed. This was used to replant the La Tâche vineyard, which is why today three quarters of the La Tâche monopollage consists of scions from the Romanée Conti vineyard. Today, it is not known exactly which rootstocks were used to replant Romanée Conti, but Mr Villaine assumes that it must have been Riparia.