2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru

BY NEAL MARTIN | MAY 31, 2022Whenever I visit Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, I often
spy a half-a-dozen barrels stencilled “Les Petits Monts”. I have never asked about
their fate or which producer they might be sold to, though I have a hunch. I presumed
that Domaine de la Romanée-Conti would never bottle it themselves, if only to maintain
their 100% Grand Cru portfolio. Perhaps their stance softened with the
intermittent and successful release of their Cuvée Duvault-Blochet, either
commercially released via agents or sometimes secreted out to restaurants. That
is a policy that I applaud – supporting customers whilst avoiding rampant
speculation on the secondary market.

Then,
the 2018 vintage saw the inaugural release of the Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts.
It comes from a 0.41-hectare parcel, not the only Premier Cru in the domaine’s possession
as they own 0.11-hectares in Au-Dessus des Malconsorts and 0.08-hectares in Les
Gaudichots. The Les Petits-Monts equates to six-barrels, or more precisely
according to the label, 1,747 bottles in this vintage at least. One assumes
that it undergoes exactly the same vineyard husbandry and élevage as their
Grand Crus. Like many, I first spotted it on social media. It becomes a bit
like hunting for Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. Bertrand de Villaine told me
where I might find a bottle, though a wine writing colleague had the same idea
and guzzled it himself, a treacherous act that shall never be forgiven. Later,
dining in Saint-Émilion with Antonio, I spotted another on a list, but we were
both in abstemious moods since we had a zillion primeur samples to taste at the
crack of dawn.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1653683025385-vr+drc+petits+mont+%281%29.jpg">Then,
in Vienne, preceding the Rousseau vertical, there was another bottle at La
Pyramide at almost half the price in Bordeaux (it’s a good barometer of
restaurant mark-ups!) Our group was split over two tables, and the other
plucked it from the list, though a benevolent soul offered his glass. Before
you go booking a table at the restaurant with the sole intention of ordering
another bottle, please note that this was the last one. Infanticide? Guilty as
charged. But it’s either that or never drinking it at all. 

So, how
did it taste?

The 2018
Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru expresses the growing season more
than the terroir. Bulging with precocious Morello cherries and cassis on the
nose, it can barely contain its youthful zeal and, for the Domaine, atypical
decadence. The palate follows in a similar vein with saturated tannins, velvety
red fruit, plump and sensuality. The purity is utterly seductive, but does not
exude mineralité and terroir expression. Thoroughly enjoyable, yet it is
not intellectual. But it does heighten intrigue, and I would love to taste the
same cuvée in a cooler vintage since, to the best of my knowledge, we will see
a few bottles released in the future. Good luck treasure hunting. 91/Drink
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