2022
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: The Lightness of Being

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | MARCH 19, 2025

I admit I approached the 2022s from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
with some trepidation. Given reports of extreme, record-setting warm and dry
weather, I feared a repeat of 2020, a year in which the wines were unusually
dark and concentrated. Those concerns were quickly allayed as soon as I started
tasting the 2022s. The wines are absolutely brilliant. Elegant and poised, the
2022s are not only captivating, but they also offer that most elusive of all
qualities in fine wine: the ability to convey the essence of site. 

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1742314196451-Vinous_DRC+Range.jpg">The range of 2022s, followed by two library wines for additional
context 

I tasted the 2022s with Co-Managers Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de
Villaine at the annual tasting organized by longtime American importer Wilson Daniels, held this year at Le Bernardin. As is the custom, two library vintages were served
after the tasting of the new vintage for further context. I have included notes
on those bottles and a pair of additional wines I tasted recently. My only
quibble with the tasting is that the wines were served too warm. Pre-pouring
delicate wines in a warm dining room is a recipe for trouble. This is a mistake
that quite simply can’t happen at this level. I apologize for being so direct,
but these wines deserved better care.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1742315445347-Vinous_Tasting+the+2022s+from+barrel.jpg">Tasting the 2022s from barrel, November 2023 

The 2022 Growing Season

After severe frost in 2021, vines unleashed their stored
energy in 2022, presaging a large crop, a sort of rebirth for the vine that is
quite common after shock events. Generous yields would turn out to be one of
the blessings of 2022. Cold morning temperatures in
April did not threaten the crop. Heat and drought later in the month led to an
early budbreak. That theme continued through May. Benign conditions resulted in
a fast and even flowering that was completed by the end of the month. There was
a bit of rain in May, then a more important episode towards the end of June.
July and August were extremely hot and dry, pushing some vineyards into hydric
stress. Rain in mid-August helped the vines reestablish a measure of balance.
Harvest began on August 30 with the Corton and wrapped up on September 13 with
the last of the Echézeaux and Corton-Charlemagne. In the cellar, fruit was
healthy and required minimal sorting, while juice yields were abundant. Yields
came in around 40 hectoliters per hectare, a veritable bounty by present-day
standards in Burgundy.&nbsp;Barrels stacked three high in the cellar is an exceptionally rare sight at the domaine, but it happened with the 2022s.&nbsp;

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1742314142342-Vinous_DRC+Standouts.jpg">Romanée St. Vivant and Richebourg are among the standouts
in the collection of 2022s from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. 

The Proof is in the Glass

Cutting to the chase, 2022 is a fabulous vintage for the
domaine. Readers who have access to these wines will not want to miss them. With
generous yields on the vine and benign weather, intense heat and drought proved
to be quite manageable. In
tasting, the 2022s are vivid and red in the glass, a stark contrast to the dark,
imposing 2020s. Brisk acids and modest alcohols around 13% help exalt the
personality of each site. Quite incredibly, the wines show no signs of a year
that was the hottest on record. Once again, the Romanée St. Vivant is my
personal favorite, as it encompasses all the qualities I seek in Burgundy,
namely elegance, understatement and expression of place, but the reality is
that all the wines are exceptional.© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/future-memories-drc-2022-in-bottle-feb-2025">Future Memories: DRC 2022 In Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, February 2025<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2023-burgundy-supplement-feb-2025">2023 Burgundy Supplement</a>, Antonio Galloni, February 2025<a target="_blank" href="https://vinousmedia.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1b0468fdd47cc4ecb9d11de24&amp;id=4e2c937060&amp;e=87e391cba0">The Lord Giveth…Burgundy 2023</a>, Neal Martin, January 2025<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/domaine-de-la-romanee-conti-a-survey-of-the-2021s-mar-2024">Domaine de la Romanée Conti: A Survey of the 2021s</a>, Antonio Galloni, March 2024 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/nature-rules-nature-s-rules-drc-2021-in-bottle-feb-2024">Nature Rules/Nature’s Rules: DRC 2021 In Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, February 2024 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/domaine-de-la-romanee-conti-2020-the-new-burgundy-mar-2023">Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2020 &amp; The New Burgundy</a>, Antonio Galloni, March 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/plus-ca-change-drc-2020-in-bottle-feb-2023">Plus Ça Change: DRC 2020 in Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, February 2023

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social