Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, 2018 Vintage En primeur by corneyandbarrowltd

DOMAINE DE LA ROMANÃ&#x2030;E-CONTI 2018 VINTAGE EN PRIMEUR EXCLUSIVE TO CORNEY & BARROW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

“A l'heure où j'écris ces lignes, vendanges finies, comme tous les ans, le grand peintre de l' Automne est venu s'installer dans nos vignes. Chaque matin, on découvre un peu plus nombreuses, un peu plus appuyées, ces trainées d'or pur que son pinceau a posées sur elles pendant la nuit. En même temps que, dans les cuveries et les caves, le vin naît de la tumultueuse fermentation du raisin qui l'a porte toute la saison, la vigne, elle, se prépare à sa mort hivernale dans cette douce et lente marée d' or qui l'envahit…” “At the time of this writing, the harvest is over and, as every year, the great painter of the Autumn has settled in our vineyards. Every morning, we discover, a little more numerous and more intense , these trails of pure gold that his brush painted on the vineyards overnight. While in the wineries and in the cellars the tumultuous fermentation of the grapes is giving birth to the wine, the vineyards are preparing for their winter death in this invasive soft and quiet golden tide…” Aubert de Villaine, writing immediately after the harvest on October 15th 2018.

Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot Le Thé à l'anglaise servi dans le salon des Quatre-Glaces au palais du Temple à Paris en mai 1766 English tea served in the 'Salon des Quatre-Glaces au Palais du Temple' in Paris, May 1766 This refined social gathering was held in the Court of the Prince de Conti with a special guest, the young Mozart, seen seated at the piano in the full image on pp.12-13.

INTRODUCTION Entre les silences

30th August 2018. The hills above the Domaine’s vineyards. Dusk. The eyes are drawn right towards Nuits-StGeorges, traverse Vosne-Romanée and scan immediately left towards Vougeot, Chambolle and in the middle distance Morey-Saint-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin. A luminous velvet warmth rises from the vineyards and there is a plangent, almost deafening silence, an immobility and serenity born of a calm confidence that the tumult and excitement of the growing season are over, and the vineyards are momentarily stilled. At the Domaine the curtain of harvest rose the next day on the hill of Corton and came down with La Tâche on the 12th of September to produce a vintage that has already passed into legend. Aubert de Villaine: “We cannot help finding in these wines the fruit of 2015 and the extreme ripeness of 2003. This might offer us a new 1947, a legendary vintage if any...”

Perrine Fenal (co-director) and Aubert de Villaine (co-director)

I was also reminded of Aubert’s dictum that, “There is no such thing as great or poor vintages, but rather easy and difficult ones”. Well, unlike 2015 which was easy, 2018 was difficult, offering a cocktail of storms, humidity, mildew and of course heat and dryness. It was a viticultural roller coaster and ultimately triumph for Chef de Culture Nicolas Jacob and his team, a further endorsement of biodynamics and yet another illustration of how greatness is so often born of adversity. These 2018s showed in, or perhaps because of the cold isolation

of our COVID London tasting, a density, a concentration, a seductive richness of profound power, a purity and a fascinatingly lifted freshness that will mark them as one of the greatest vintages of these last 30 years. The winter of 2017/18 was usefully cold with freezing temperatures and snow in February, March and early April, perfect for eliminating any latent pests and diseases. March was particularly wet as the snows melted, allowing vital reserves of water to build up. This was to be so

Nicolas Jacob (Chef de Culture)

critical in the later months of the growing season. April by contrast was beautiful with temperatures up to 33 degrees and vegetation accelerated at breakneck speed with the vineyard team working relentlessly, pruning, debudding and tying back the canes. May and June were very humid with frequent rains making it extremely difficult to apply the plant-based biodynamic treatments as they were constantly being compromised by the weather, with only occasional bursts

Alexandre Bernier (Chef de Cave)

of sun that allowed the soils to dry and the treatments to hold. Intriguingly flowering was a little early - around the 24th of May and over usefully fast in around 5 days. Mildew, unlike in the CĂ´te de Beaune, was the constant and often realised threat in the CĂ´te de Nuits and once again Nicolas Jacob and his team had to go out again and again with preventative treatments.

And then, and then... the magical change with the arrival, from mid-June of a beautiful North wind that blew the clouds and humidity away and set the growing season on that famously hot and dry, dry path which was to continue, virtually uninterrupted through and beyond harvest. This was where the comparison with 2003 may be made with temperatures in July and August regularly between 30 and 40 degrees centigrade. Unlike 2003 however, the water table was higher as a result of the wet winter and spring and August offered three light but useful showers to sustain the vines. In addition and despite that continuous drying North wind it became clear that the sustained biodynamic treatments over the years offered the vines significantly greater resistance to defend themselves against the excesses of nature with the vineyards remaining healthily green and fresh.

By August the 15th sugar levels were already very high but the all-critical phenolic maturity - that of seeds, stems and skins - required patience and it was to be another two weeks before full maturity was reached under a cloudless sky and with hot but seasonal temperatures. The grapes were magnificent, thickly skinned, sweet and juicy with some as Aubert called them “figgy” - always a sign of high ripeness. Harvesting began on August the 31st in Corton, then on September the 3rd, one day earlier than 2017 in Vosne-Romanée, with Richebourg, Romanée-St-Vivant, Romanée-Conti, Grands Échézeaux, Échézeaux and finally La Tâche on the 12th (see table). Le Montrachet, as for most of the Côte de Beaune, benefited from exceptional climatic conditions throughout the growing season and was brought in on September the 7th with blessedly generous quantities and a beautiful quality and was to offer in addition a delicate, insinuating minerality (see tasting notes). Vinifications were perfectly effected by Alexandre Bernier and his team with musts fermented in vats between 18 to 21 days. The wines where then put to barrel for the long secondary fermentation until final bottling in the early spring of 2020. Yields (see table) were alas lower than average although wonderfully generous for Montrachet. I hope the tasting notes will help guide you in your choice. The allocation process (page 14) put together with your guidance, is also there to assist you. As always please speak to your individual sales person or our sales team on 020 7265 2430.

ADAM BRETT-SMITH January 2021

Images from the 1999 Domaine de la RomanĂŠe-Conti Dinner at The National Gallery

VOSNE-ROMANÉE

Chambolle-Musigny N Dijon

N74

Les Grands Échézeaux

Vougeot

Échézeaux

Flagey-Echézeaux

Les Richebourgs

La Romanée

Romanée Saint-Vivant

La RomanéeConti

La Grande Rue

La Tâche

Vosne-Romanée

Nuits-St-Georges

Beanne

Grands Crus du Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

N74

CORTON

En Charlemagne

D115d

Le Charlemagne

Bois de Corton

Les Pougets

Le Corton

Les Languettes

ALOXE-CORTON Les Perrières Le Clos du Roi

Les Renardes Le Rognet-Corton

Les Bressandes

Les Meix Les Fournières

Les Chaillots

Les Valozières Les Caillettes

Les Bruyères

D115d

Les Morais

Les Marèchaudes

Les Lolieres

Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot

THE ALLOCATION PROCESS We always aim to make our allocation process utterly transparent and fair. This is necessarily painstaking as each order is dealt with in minute detail – as it should be. We ask for your patience as we do this and, once again, thought it would be useful to set out the Domaine’s and, by extension, Corney & Barrow’s allocation criteria. • The Domaine’s focus is on the private customer and as a consumer rather than a speculator. • The Domaine’s wines are bought on the clear understanding that they will be stored and delivered in the UK only. Should you wish to sell the wines in the future, do please offer Corney & Barrow first refusal as this will ensure the integrity of secondary market distribution. • Should customers wish to sell their allocation (or part of it) within two years of initial release, it can be fairly assumed that the wines were bought with speculation in mind rather than future drinking. This may impact the level of future allocations to those customers. • Priority will be given to the Domaine’s and Corney & Barrow’s longstanding and best customers. • We will do our best to accommodate newer customers. To help

in this, we have a range of older vintages in stock to help begin a collection. • May we please have your order by Thursday 18th February 2021. • Allocations will be completed by Friday 26th February 2021. • Confirmation of order will be through receipt of invoice and the wines will be delivered or put into your reserve upon payment and once the wines have arrived in the UK. All orders are conditional upon UK storage only. We keep for the Domaine’s benefit a record of bottle numberings to help you in this. • May we please request that invoices are paid in full by Friday 26th March 2021. In all fairness, we reserve the right to reallocate your order to other customers on the waiting list if payment is not received by this time. • Do please speak to our sales team, who will be delighted to help you further.

Provenance Once again we continue to bang the drum on provenance and I can do no better than quote the Domaine’s own words: “We would like to take this opportunity to insist on something important that concerns all wine lovers – trade or private customers – it is imperative that, without absolute certainty as to the authenticity and origin of the bottles they are offered, they buy wines only through our official distributor or from the merchant and wine shop that the distributor has appointed. This is the only way to secure the guarantee of integrity, authenticity and proper storage of our wines!” Enough said!

Tasting Guide Our tasting notes provide full details but, at your request, we have also introduced a clear and simple marking system. We hope these guidelines assist you in your selection. For the benefit of simplicity, wines are scored out of 20. We will often use a range of scores (e.g. 16.5 to 17) to indicate the potential to achieve a higher mark. When a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;+â&#x20AC;&#x2122; is shown it adds further to that potential. Wines from lesser vintages will, inevitably, show a lower overall score. Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine. A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.

TASTING NOTES CORTON

GRANDS ÉCHÉZEAUX

The hill of Corton has a suitably majestic presence whose twin adornments Pernand-Vergelesses on the left and Aloxe-Corton on the right appear almost insignificantly small. Unsurprisingly the hill also dwarfs the minute size of the Domaine’s three plots – “Le Clos du Roi” (0.57 hectares), “Les Bressandes” (1.2 hectares) and “Les Renardes” (0.5 hectares).

As always this is fractionally paler in colour than Échézeaux. The nose is carapaced, initially impenetrable but then slowly yields a perfume of super refined, old vine fruit, clenched, Asiatic, almost shockingly pure and elegant. The palate is sweet on entry, but with a dry concentration, layer after layer of powerfully rich almost seductive flavours and a massive finish. This is definitely Grands.

For me the 2018 pips the outstanding 2015. This Corton, the first to be harvested, wears the vintage effortlessly. Deep ruby heart, almost opaque. The nose offers a dark, meaty rich perfume, earthy, slightly “wild” with hints of stony minerality. The palate has a substantial and velvet dry structure cased in sweet almost debauched fruit – so rare in Corton - with the merest kick of grainy “grit in the oyster” grip to a finish of rather beautiful length.

Corney & Barrow Score 18+ Recommended drinking from 2026 - 2038+ £1,830/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK £1,230/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK

Corney & Barrow Score 18 Recommended drinking from 2028 - 2035 £996/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK £674/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK

ÉCHÉZEAUX

RICHEBOURG

It seems to me that Échézeaux, picked immediately before La Tâche is producing greater and greater wine and I keep reminding myself - and others - that if this vineyard belonged to almost any other Domaine it would be considered at or near the pinnacle of their holdings.

2018 fits this wonderful wine like an iron fist in a velvet glove. The nose has a compressed, almost clenched power of deepest, darkest red and black fruit, earthy, sappy, profoundly masculine (I suppose one can still say this?) On the palate the traditional bulk and sensuality of this “Porthos” of a wine has become super concentrated, dense, meaty and profound, perfectly balanced with freshness, sweetness, purity and massive length. A magnificent Richebourg in awe of itself. Rather more eloquently, “Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a colossus, and we petty men walk under his huge legs and peep about to find ourselves dishonourable graves”* - or something. Great, great wine.

Lying due west and just above Grands Échézeaux I often refer to this wine as the D'Artagnan of the three (four) Musketeers and if so then it is most definitely the spiritual younger mate of Richebourg (Porthos) in 2018. Deepest ruby colour. The nose is flamboyant at first – “all slashed velvet and lace” I wrote in the margin - with rich, biscuity red fruits at the primary level but then curiously, magically, followed by a super refined, subtly rich concentrated essence of this time black fruit perfume with hints of spice. The palate is powerfully structured with a sweet concentration of those almost perfectly balanced fruits, a burst of freshness and purity and fine, fine length to the finish. Corney & Barrow Score 18 Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2035 £1,260/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK £850/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK

*William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 1 Scene 2 Corney & Barrow Score 18 - 19 Recommended drinking from 2028 - 2040+ £2,880/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK £1,930/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK

ROMANÉE-ST-VIVANT

ROMANÉE-CONTI

Limpid but profound ruby colour, perhaps my imagination but the reddest ruby of all the Crus. That lacy, intricate, sherbet fresh, subliminally rich red and black fruit quality that RSV so often shows is here only detectable in flashes. The palate is powerful, profound, terrestrial rather than atmospheric - again unusual - with that textbook, silky sweetness and refinement to the powder fine and sweetly substantial tannins. “Sensual and scary” I wrote in the margin, but I have no doubt that, a little like the magnificent 2003 this uncut diamond will approach the flawless for the patient.

So often the tasting of this wine - the last in the great line up - coincides with the 12 noon tolling of the Angelus bell in the church at Vosne-Romanée, heard faintly in the sepulchral silence of the Domaine’s cellars. There is something rather magical and fitting about this moment which is after all a call to prayer and of goodwill. This year the sepulchral silence was in C&B’s tasting room at 1 Thomas More St and without the bells... But the magic was still there.

Corney & Barrow Score 18 - 18.5 Recommended drinking from 2027 - 2040 £3,075/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK £2,060/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK

LA TÂCHE

This was the last of the Grands Crus to be picked, brought in on the 12th of September. Beautiful profound ruby colour. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a young La Tâche in which the ingredients, infinitely complex and intricate are offered with such startling clarity. The nose is primal for sure but fantastically exotic, with Asian spices, that characteristic eastern tea leaf perfume (which almost always comes with much greater maturity), darkest red fruits and fascinatingly flowers - lavender and rose - all of these presented with an almost atmospheric lightness of touch. The palate is sweet initially, deceptively so for it masks the calm, measured build-up of layered intense concentration, profound powder fine structure, perfect extraction and quite extraordinary freshness and length. The magic is the fact that with all these powerful ingredients and almost ridiculous complexity and purity there is no sense of weight whatsoever. Unearthly. And the greatest young La Tâche I have yet tasted. Corney & Barrow Score 19.5 - 20 Recommended drinking from 2030 - 2040+ £3,300/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK £1,100/Case of 1 bottle, in bond UK £2,210/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK

Fractionally paler than La Tâche but still a profound ruby. The “fan” of its qualities is more closed, subliminal, enigmatic than La Tâche, as Romanée-Conti casually spans both the terrestrial - rooted in the hallmark of the vintage - and the unearthly quality that it shares with the 2015. The nose is impossibly refined, unusually expressive at this stage with an array of subtle haunting spices, old vine black and red fruit both meaty and mineral and with a latent power that is almost shocking. This is the terrestrial. The unearthly comes on the palate which has an eerie, gossamer lightness of touch alongside the subtly rich layered fruit and beautifully precise and refined structure. Unimaginably long in the finish this seemed to be more a wine you sensed rather than tasted. A perfect moment in time but just a hint of what is to come. Corney & Barrow Score 19.5 (- 20) Recommended drinking from 2032 - 2042+ £3,325/Case of 1 bottle, in bond UK

MONTRACHET I last used the phrase “Reverse of the slope” writing about La Tâche 2015. It is a military tactic used to conceal strength of resource behind a hill or slope and it is peculiarly appropriate to Montrachet 2018. We have left the lush uplands of the 2017 vintage and, as if in a casual dismissal of the sometimes torrid conditions of 2018 this Montrachet has produced a high tensile, elegant, super pure sinuous wine. The nose is pointed, fresh and almost zesty, even Puligny-like. Oh, the palate is rich and full yes, but the hallmark is a reined-in refinement, a citrusy elegance and of course a profound length. Here's the curious thing - I drank the remnants of our tasting bottle four days after it had been opened. It was magnificent, inevitably more evolved, fuller, richer, more exotic but still in a state of perfect control and beauty. Aubert compares it to the 1970, “one of the great Montrachets we made”. Corney & Barrow Score 18 - 18.5 Recommended drinking from 2025 - 2030 £2,000/Case of 1 bottle, in bond UK

THE 2018 VINTAGE IN NUMBERS AVERAGE AGE OF VINES (YEARS)

TOTAL PRODUCTION (DOZ)

YIELD (HECTOLITRES PER HECTARE)

HARVEST DATES

BOTTLING DATES

Corton

662

34 hl/ha

August 31st

February 11th & 12th - March 11th, 2020

Échézeaux

1,170

26 hl/ha

September 8th

March 11th, 13th & 16th - May 9th, 2020

Richebourg

686

32 hl/ha

September 7th

March 17th, April 8th & 9th, 2020

Grands Échézeaux

1,015

22 hl/ha

September 4th

May 12th and 13th, 2020

Romanée-St-Vivant

1,059

18 hl/ha

September 3rd

January 13th & 15th, 2020

La Tâche

1,190

19 hl/ha

September 12th

April 9th & 10th - May 11th, 2020

19 Romanée-Conti

336

18 hl/ha

September 6th

January 14th, 2020

Le Montrachet

60+

322

47 hl/ha

September 5th

November 13th, 2019

Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine. A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.

RECOMMENDED DRINKING DATES We are regularly asked for more specific drinking dates for Burgundies, in particular from the great domaines.

REVISED DRINKING DATES

Vosne–Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault Blochet

Échézeaux

Grands Échézeaux

1995

N/A

Now

1996

N/A

Now

1997

N/A

Now

1998

N/A

Now

1999

Now

2000

N/A

Now

2001

N/A

Now

2002

Now

Now-2022+

2003

N/A

Now

2004

N/A

See below

2005

N/A

See below

2006

Now-2022

Now

2007

N/A

Now

See below

2008

Now-2023

See below

2009

Now-2025

See below

2010

N/A

See below

2011

N/A

See below

2012

N/A

See below

2013

N/A

See below

2014

N/A

See below

2015

N/A

See below

2016

N/A

See below

2017

N/A

See below

ORIGINAL DRINKING DATES

Vosne–Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault Blochet

Échézeaux

Grands Échézeaux

1995

N/A

From 2003

From 2005

1996

N/A

From 1999

From 2000

1997

N/A

From 2002

From 2003

1998

N/A

From 2004

From 2005

1999

From 2003

From 2006

From 2008

2000

N/A

From 2004

From 2006

2001

N/A

From 2005

From 2006

2002

From 2006

From 2008

From 2009

2003

N/A

From 2008

From 2009

2004

N/A

From 2013

From 2015

2005

N/A

From 2015

From 2020

2006

2010-2015

From 2011

From 2012

2007

N/A

From 2012

From 2015

2008

2015-2020

From 2016

2018-2025+

2009

2015-2020

2018-2025+

2020-2030

2010

N/A

2019-2025+

2021-2030+

2011

N/A

2018-2024

2020-2028

2012

N/A

2020-2025

2020-2030+

2013

N/A

2019-2025+

2021-2030

2014

N/A

2020-2030

2022-2030+

2015

N/A

2022-2030+

2024-2035

2016

N/A

2028-2035+

2030-2040+

2017

N/A

2029-2035+

2030-2035+

2018

N/A

2024-2035

2026-2038+

Here therefore, are specific recommendations of drinking dates for every recent vintage. Of course taste is an extremely personal thing but having tasted and analysed these wines extensively over the last few years, we absolutely believe that opening these wines at the dates indicated will ensure maximum enjoyment. For your interest and reference we have included our original recommendations made at the launch of the new vintages below. Richebourg

Romanée–St–Vivant

La Tâche

Romanée–Conti

Le Montrachet

Now

Now-2025+

Now

Now-2025+

Now

Now-2024

Now

Now-2022+

Now-2023+

2012-2022+

2015-2030+

Now

Now-2022+

Now-2023+

2012-2024+

2015-2030+

Now

Now-2023+

Now-2027+

Now

Now-2022+

Now-2023+

Now-2029+

Now

Now-2023+

2012-2023+

2015-2028+

Now

Now-2023+

Now-2025+

Now

See below

Now

See below

Now-2026

See below

Now-2028

See below

Now-2027

See below

Now-2029

Now-2028

See below

Now-2025+

See below

Richebourg

Romanée–St–Vivant

La Tâche

Romanée–Conti

Le Montrachet

From 2006

From 2005

From 2006

From 2008

From 2007

From 2003

From 2001

From 2004

From 2006

From 2004

From 2005

From 2007

From 2004

From 2006

From 2005

From 2008

From 2003

From 2010

From 2009

From 2012

From 2015

From 2006

From 2009

From 2007

From 2009

From 2007

From 2008

From 2010

From 2008

From 2009

From 2012

From 2015

From 2010

From 2011

From 2010

From 2011

From 2012

From 2009

From 2017

From 2016

From 2018

From 2020

From 2012

From 2020

From 2025

From 2014

From 2015

From 2013

2016-2022

2017-2025

From 2015

2016-2021

From 2016

2017-2022

2020-2025

From 2012

2016-2021

2017-2022

2018-2026+

2020-2030

From 2018

2022-2030

2020-2028

2025-2035

2015-2025

2023-2030+

2022-2029+

2025-2035

2026-2035+

2016-2025+

2022-2030

2021-2020

2020-2030

2025-2035

2017-2022

2025-2032+

2026-2035+

2027-2035+

2017-2025+

2022-2032

2020-2030

2023-2030+

2024-2034+

2019-2025

2023-2033+

2021-2031+

2025-2035+

2025-2037+

2019-2029

2025-2035+

2023-2030+

2027-2035+

2030-2040+

2020-2035+

2029-2040+

2028-2035+

2030-2040+

N/A

2031-2037+

2029-2036+

2031-2040+

2030-2040+

2022-2032

2028-2040+

2027-2040

2030-2040+

2032-2042+

2025-2030

2018 - HENRY'S LAST VINTAGE

Henry-Frédéric Roch 1962 - 2018 REQUIESCAT IN PACE

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