Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2020 &amp; The New Burgundy

BY ANTONIO GALLONI |&nbsp;MARCH 28, 2023This year’s presentation of the new releases from Domaine de
la Romanée-Conti marked the beginning of a new chapter. It was the first time
new Co-Managers Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de Villaine presented the wines
following the retirement of Aubert de Villaine.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1680013947292-DRC+Cover_copy.jpg">As I sat down to taste the wines, I thought it was probably
a very good time for a transition because that is what Burgundy is all about
right now. Transition. The first thing evident in the 2020 reds is their
intense red/purplish color. I guess this is present-day Burgundy. These are not
your parents’ wines; that much is clear. We are in another era, figuratively
and literally. 

Two thousand-twenty is the third in a cycle of historically
warm and dry years spanning vintages 2018 through 2020. And yet it is also the
most surprising of the three years. As much as the wines are dark, deep and
richly flavored, they are also remarkably fresh and vibrant. Are the vines
adapting to current conditions, or are vineyard managers and winemakers
becoming more skilled at dealing with the New Burgundy, or are other factors at
play? I suspect the answer to that question, if there indeed is an answer, is
pretty complex.

As I wrote in <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/bordeaux-2020-saving-the-best-for-last-feb-2023">my report on the 2020 Bordeaux from bottle</a>,
the 2020 vintage has a certain mystery to it because harvest took place during
the COVID-19 lockdown, which meant, among other things, that there were no
outside visitors in Burgundy who could report back on events as they unfolded. For
their part, vineyard managers, winemakers and their crews worked under very
calm conditions, save the constant threat of COVID. There was no early buzz,
good or bad, about the 2020s. We were all worried about much more immediate and
pressing matters as the pandemic unfolded.

Fenal and de Villaine describe 2020 as a year with an early
budbreak, early flowering, well-timed rains and favorable winds through the
first part of the season. Elevated temperatures beginning in late July through
mid-August pushed vines to the edge, as witnessed by veraison, that was slow
and uneven in some places as vines prioritized their survival over ripening the
crop. Mid-slope parcels, traditionally considered the most favored because they
have an ideal mix of soils, did best. Parcels at higher elevations (where soils
are poorest) and those at lower elevations (where soils are heaviest) struggled
more.The final phase of ripening took place at an accelerated
pace, which has become the norm in recent years. Among other things, this means
that everything ripened within a fairly narrow window. Harvest for the reds
started on August 18 for the young vine parcels, unthinkably early compared
with the past, then started in earnest on the 23rd for older
parcels.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1680013963187-IMG_4901_copy.jpg">Spells of rain from August 29 through the 31st
brought about a brief pause in the vineyard. The last reds were picked on
September 3 (La Tâche), while the whites were picked on September 5 for the
Montrachet and September 7-9 for the Corton-Charlemagne. The reds were done
with close to 100% whole clusters. Time on the skins was 18 to 21 days,
depending on the wine. 

Climate change is real, and it is here to stay. The
implications are many, starting with rethinking everything in the vineyard,
from rootstock choices, to canopy management to tilling regimes and everything
in between. In the cellar, the domaine is working with slightly larger barrels
for the Corton-Charlemagne and moving towards shorter élevage in wood.

In tasting, the reds surprise for their vivacity and
freshness. Whether this is a result of a slight lack of phenolic maturity or
just an expression of the balance of the year, the 2020s are very different
from wines from other warm years, most notably the 2019s, which have always
been far more opulent and flamboyant. The whites are an even greater surprise,
as they are both magnificent and superior to the 2019s. Experimentation with
larger format oak in the Corton-Charlemagne as a tool for preserving freshness
paid off handsomely.

In short, this is a vintage I like very much. The highlights
include an overachieving Echézeaux, a Richebourg of rare and uncommon finesse
and a magnificent Romanée St. Vivant that really captures all of the various
facets of this highly intriguing vintage. The whites are perhaps even more
surprising, as both the Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne are superb. That’s
not to say the other wines aren’t notable, they most certainly are, but they
won’t reserve too many surprises for readers who know these wines. What stands
out most is the captivating mix of intense ripeness and energy. Is this the New
Burgundy?© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed 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/plus-ca-change-drc-2020-in-bottle-feb-2023">Plus Ça Change: DRC 2020 in Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, February 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/bordeaux-2020-saving-the-best-for-last-feb-2023">Bordeaux 2020: Saving the Best for Last</a>, Antonio Galloni, February 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/domaine-de-la-romanee-conti-the-2019s-jun-2022">Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: The 2019s</a>, Antonio Galloni, June 2022 <div><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2017-domaine-de-la-romanee-conti-a-day-s-work-jul-2020">2017 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: A Day’s Work</a>, Antonio Galloni, July 2020<div><div></div></div><div><div></div></div></div>

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