A flicker of candlelight illuminates frosty rows of vines at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) on an early April dawn. These flames – lit by vignerons in 2021 to ward off a spring frost – are a vivid testament to the unwavering devotion that has defined this estate for centuries. For over a thousand years, this hallowed ground in Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy has been revered for producing wines of unparalleled grace and depth. Each bottle from these vineyards carries not just exquisite Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, but the weight of history, heritage, and a touch of magic treasured by wine lovers worldwide.
Ancient Origins and Monastic Heritage
Burgundy’s winemaking heritage runs deep in the soils of Vosne-Romanée. As early as the 4th century, Roman and Gallo-Roman connoisseurs were already seeking out wines from the Côte de Nuits. In the medieval era, this land fell under the care of the Benedictine monks. Around 1131, Hugh II, Duke of Burgundy, ceded woodlands and uncultivated fields in Vosne – including the future Romanée-Conti vineyard – to the abbey of Saint-Vivant. The monks cleared and cultivated these climats (Burgundy’s term for its precisely delineated vineyard parcels), and by the 13th and 14th centuries the vines of Vosne were already famed for their quality. One early record speaks of the “Cloux de Saint-Vivant,” an ancestor of Romanée-Conti, being noted and described with admiration. In the 17th century, the vineyard began to be called La Romanée – the first time that name appears in writing. This reflected the site’s storied reputation: even then, La Romanée stood out among Burgundy’s hundreds of climats as a source of singularly cherished wine.
A Prince’s Passion and a New Name
By the 18th century, La Romanée had caught the eye of royalty. In 1760, Louis-François de Bourbon, Prince de Conti (a cousin of King Louis XV), purchased the vineyard in a fit of vinous passion. He paid a staggering sum – reportedly ten times the price of the famed Clos de Bèze – to make the coveted La Romanée his own. The prince’s love for this wine bordered on obsession. He refused to sell a drop; every precious bottle was reserved exclusively for his table and inner circle. Contemporary chronicles waxed poetic about this grand vin that “invaded the heart of a prince of the Blood, eclipsing his favorites and courtiers”, whisking him into a veritable fairy tale of enchantment. Under the prince’s ownership, the vineyard’s full name became Romanée-Conti, forever linking it to its regal patron.
For a time, Romanée-Conti enjoyed the protection of this princely enthusiast, who even built a manor and cellar (at La Goillotte) adjacent to the vineyard to care for his treasured wine. But the idyll would not last. The Prince de Conti died in 1776, and within little more than a decade the French Revolution upended the old order. In 1789 the Romanée-Conti vineyard was seized from its aristocratic owners as a national asset. After several years in limbo – during which the very name “Romanée-Conty” (spelled with a y) first appeared in official records – the prized vineyard was auctioned to the highest bidder in 1794. Thus ended the Conti chapter, but the prince’s name lived on immortalized in Romanée-Conti. Indeed, although the Conti family line later died out, the vineyard ensured the name would “subsist in immortality”, attached to one of the world’s greatest wines.
Revolution, Rebirth, and the Duvault-Blochet Era
In the wake of the Revolution, Romanée-Conti passed through the hands of new stewards. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw owners come and go – including Nicolas Defer de la Nouerre, who won the 1794 auction, and Julien-Jules Ouvrard, a wealthy banker who acquired Romanée-Conti in 1819. Ouvrard, one of the richest men of his day, cherished the vineyard’s prestige. He even vinified the wine off-site at the Château de Clos de Vougeot for a period, before financial difficulties forced the estate’s sale.
A new golden era began in 1869, when Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet – a prominent vineyard owner and wine merchant from Burgundy – realized “the dream of his life” by purchasing Romanée-Conti at age 79. Duvault-Blochet was already well-known in Burgundy, both as an innovative vigneron and as a man of means. Upon acquiring Romanée-Conti, he set about expanding and elevating the estate. In the decades around 1850–1880 he had amassed holdings in several illustrious vineyards – Les Gaudichots (whose best section would later become La Tâche), plots in Richebourg, Grands-Échézeaux and Échézeaux – effectively assembling the pieces of a Burgundian masterpiece. Under Duvault-Blochet’s guidance, the wines flourished and the domaine’s renown grew.
Duvault-Blochet’s foresight extended to acquiring La Tâche in 1933, uniting it with Romanée-Conti under common ownership for the first time. This was a pivotal moment: La Tâche (itself a grand cru vineyard of legendary quality) became a monopole of the domaine, just as Romanée-Conti had been since the Conti days. By the mid-20th century, the estate’s collection of vineyard jewels also came to include Romanée-Saint-Vivant (leased from 1966 and later purchased outright) and a small parcel of Montrachet (acquired in 1963) to produce a tiny quantity of white Burgundy as exquisite as its reds.
In 1942, the heirs of Duvault-Blochet formally established the Société Civile du Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, creating the company structure that still operates the estate today. This wartime reorganization coincided with a changing of the guard in ownership. One of Duvault-Blochet’s descendants, Jacques Chambon, sold his share of the domaine in 1942 to Henri Leroy, a savvy wine négociant from Auxey-Duresses. From that point forward, two families would share the stewardship of DRC, ushering in a new chapter built on partnership.
Two Families, One Domaine
Since 1942, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has been jointly owned and guided by the de Villaine family and the Leroy family (later represented by the Roch branch). On the de Villaine side, Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet’s legacy passed through his female descendants to the Gaudin de Villaine family. This Burgundian lineage retained roughly half the shares of the domaine, a portion that remained indivisible even as it was inherited by each new generation. Notably, Edmond Gaudin de Villaine in the early 20th century and his son Henri de Villaine (1909–1998) were key figures from this line, followed by Henri’s nephew Aubert de Villaine, who has come to embody the very soul of the estate.
On the other side, Henri Leroy’s 1942 investment planted the roots for the Leroy/Roch family’s involvement. Henri Leroy passed his stake to his daughters, the dynamic Lalou Bize-Leroy and her sister Pauline Roch. Lalou Bize-Leroy would later become a legendary Burgundian winemaker in her own right, while Pauline’s son and grandson carried the Roch name into the domaine’s leadership. Throughout the late 20th century, DRC was governed by two co-directors (associés-gérants), one from each family. From 1974 to 1991, Aubert de Villaine and Lalou Bize-Leroy jointly ran the domaine. After 1992, Lalou’s departure (amid some family tensions) saw her role taken up by her nephew, Charles Roch, and subsequently by his brother Henry-Frédéric Roch, who served alongside Aubert de Villaine for over two decades. Following Henry-Frédéric’s untimely passing in 2018, his niece Perrine Fenal (Lalou’s daughter) was appointed co-director in 2019, ensuring the Leroy/Roch family legacy continues.
Today, Aubert de Villaine remains the venerable guiding hand of DRC, having dedicated over 50 years to its service. And the torch is already passing to the next generation: in late 2021, Aubert’s nephew Bertrand de Villaine was chosen to eventually succeed him as co-gérant. Thus, the same two families that joined forces in the 1940s continue to chart the domaine’s course, balancing tradition with careful succession. Their long partnership – unusual in the world of fine wine – has safeguarded continuity, kept DRC independent, and upheld an extraordinary standard of quality through the decades.
The Nine Sacred Vineyards of DRC
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is unique not only for its history but also for its terroir portfolio – a mosaic of nine Grand Cru vineyards, each a pinnacle of Burgundy. Every wine the domaine bottles comes from a Grand Cru climat, an almost unheard-of concentration of quality that represents barely 1% of Burgundy’s production. At the heart of the estate are its two monopoles, Romanée-Conti (1.81 hectares) and La Tâche (6.7 ha), which belong entirely to DRC and to no one else. These two vineyards, both in Vosne-Romanée, produce profound Pinot Noir of haunting aroma, silken texture and remarkable longevity. Romanée-Conti, often simply called “RC,” is revered as the quintessential Burgundy – a wine of almost mythical status – while La Tâche is celebrated for its power and exotic spice.
Alongside them, the domaine farms parcels in Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Grands-Échézeaux, and Échézeaux – all Grand Cru reds within a few kilometers of each other in Vosne or nearby Flagey-Échézeaux. Each vineyard lends a different expression of Pinot Noir: Richebourg for majesty and structure, Romanée-Saint-Vivant (once tended by the monks of Saint-Vivant) for perfume and elegance, Grands-Échézeaux for depth and warmth, and Échézeaux for vibrant spice and charm. The domaine’s influence extends to white wine as well. Since 1964 it has produced a tiny quantity of Montrachet, from a superbly situated parcel in the world’s most fabled white Burgundy vineyard. And in a rare expansion beyond its Vosne-Romanée core, DRC took on new vineyards in the late 2000s: in 2008 it assumed responsibility for a portion of the Corton Grand Cru (its first foray into red wine from the Côte de Beaune) and in 2018 acquired 2.9 ha of Corton-Charlemagne to cultivate Chardonnay. 2019 was the inaugural vintage of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton-Charlemagne, heralding a new chapter for the domaine’s whites. With these additions, DRC now presides over an unmatched collection of Burgundy’s greatest vineyards – from the limestone slopes of Montrachet to the storied clos of Vosne – all under one roof.
A Philosophy of Terroir and Excellence
In Burgundy, the concept of terroir is paramount, and at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti it rises to almost spiritual importance. The philosophy of the domaine is rooted in the idea of the climat – that each vineyard site, with its particular soil, exposure, and microclimate, gives birth to a wine with a singular identity. There are hundreds of named climats in Burgundy, each a tiny universe of tradition and potential. But only a select few have been consistently admired over centuries for producing the most sublime wines, year after year, regardless of the vagaries of weather. The vineyards under DRC’s care are among these exalted few. They occupy “the most privileged situations” on Burgundy’s slopes – spots where the geology and climate combine perfectly, and where the vines are able to achieve a complete, harmonious ripeness more reliably than those around them. In difficult years, these grands crus have a knack for transcending the challenges of the season; in great years, they verge on the celestial.
Such vignobles d’exception naturally command great respect, but as the domaine emphasizes, respect must be earned. The winegrower’s task is to reveal the full potential of these grand terroirs – an “express and imperative condition” if the vineyards are to merit their legendary reputations. This is the self-imposed mission of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: from generation to generation, to continuously refine the methods that allow each parcel to shine to its fullest. In practice, this means painstaking attention to detail in viticulture and winemaking. The domaine was a pioneer in organic and biodynamic farming in Burgundy (though interestingly they rarely trumpet it), eliminating chemical inputs and embracing techniques that promote vine health and soil life. Yields are kept astonishingly low – Romanée-Conti’s tiny plot often produces on the order of only 5,000–7,000 bottles in an entire vintage – to concentrate flavor. In the cellar, tradition rules: fermentation with natural yeasts, aging in fine French oak barrels, and bottling without filtration are longstanding practices aimed at capturing the true spirit of site and season.
Within DRC’s ancient stone cellars in Vosne-Romanée, rows of barrels quietly cradle each new vintage. On their heads are branded names like “Richebourg” and “La Tâche,” a reminder that even in the anonymity of a barrel hall, each wine’s identity is paramount. The aging process is gentle and unhurried – typically 18 to 22 months in oak – allowing the young wines to gradually harmonize. Tasting at the domaine is almost a ritual, with the co-directors and winemaking team evaluating each barrel to make the final blend vineyard by vineyard. The goal is not to sculpt a flavor profile, but to let the terroir speak with clarity. As Aubert de Villaine has often noted, the wines should be the transparence of their origins – an honest reflection of the climat, the year, and the vine.
Heritage in Every Bottle
Ultimately, what sets Domaine de la Romanée-Conti apart is the almost mystical bond between its wines and their history. A bottle of Romanée-Conti or La Tâche is far more than a luxurious commodity – it is a living link to centuries of dedication on a particular patch of earth. Famed American gastronome Richard Olney captured this sentiment when he described Romanée-Conti as “velvet, seduction and mystery.” Tasting a 1956 Romanée-Conti, Olney wrote of experiencing “the intense and pure sensation of Time Regained” – an allusion to Proust that evokes how a great wine can unlock memories and transcend time itself. Such poetic tributes are common in the lore of DRC. Indeed, among collectors and critics, the wines inspire a reverence typically reserved for art or music. Many consider them “the greatest wines in the world,” not only for their complexity and longevity, but for the almost emotional response they elicit.
The rarity of these wines certainly adds to their aura. With minuscule production from each grand cru, every bottle is an event. When the wines are young, they often disappear into cellars of those patient enough to wait a decade or two (or three) for them to reveal their full splendor. When occasionally a bottle reemerges at auction or on a fine dining table, it sparks excitement across the wine community. Yet the cultural significance of DRC goes beyond rarity or price. In 2015, the historic climats of Burgundy – including all the vineyards tended by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti – were recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fittingly, it was Aubert de Villaine who served as president of the committee that championed Burgundy’s case for UNESCO inscription. This honor acknowledged that the patchwork of vineyards (and centuries of human toil refining them) is a treasure of global cultural heritage. Nowhere is this more evident than at DRC, where tradition and terroir converge so profoundly.
After more than 150 years in the custodianship of the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti stands as a beacon of continuity in a changing world. It has weathered phylloxera, wars, and economic crises, all the while guarding its vines like crown jewels. In each new vintage, the team approaches the vines and cellar with the same almost monastic devotion as their forebears – mindful that they are not owners of a commodity, but stewards of a legacy. The story of DRC is a narrative passed from one generation to the next, written in sun and rain, oak and earth, patience and passion. Little wonder that for wine lovers, uncorking a Romanée-Conti is akin to opening a time capsule. It is an experience of history and art in liquid form – the taste of a cultural icon that, like the flicker of candlelight among the vines, burns eternal in the world of fine wine.