The Domaine de la Romanee-Conti is the apogee of Burgundian prestige. Rightly so, for the incomparably rich and complex wines produced here make it for many people the greatest domaine on the Cote d’Or. The DRC estate extends to 27 hectares of the finest vineyard-sites of Vosne-Romanee and Flagey-Echezeaux; they include, of course, the Domaine’s two world-famous monopoles, Romanee-Conti and La Tache, but also nearly half of Richebourg, more than half of Romanee-Saint-Vivant and over a third of Grands Echezeaux. If that was not enough, the Domaine also owns 0.67 hectare of Le Montrachet, where the average age of the vines is 60 years.

The Domaine’s commitment to the highest standards is evident at every stage in the vineyard and in the vat-house. The average age of the vines is impressingly mature (Romanee-Conti’s is 47 years, that for La Tache 45) and yields are low. Viticulture methods are environment-friendly and pesticides and other chemical treatments are avoided.

The DRC was one of the first to introduce an automated conveyor to sort imperfect grapes at harvest time. The top four Grands Crus are traditionally fermented in open-topped wooden casks, while the Grands Echezeaux and Echezeaux are vinified in open-topped stainless steel vats, the grapes being automatically punched down. All the DRC wines are aged in new oak, but great care is taken to ensure that the staves for the barrels have been properly matured.

Very few would now question the claim that the Domaine’s wines are among the best of the best. Words are hopelessly inadequate to describe their magic, but they do have great finesse and intensity, allied to an extraordinary long flavour that stays with you for several minutes after you have put down the glass.