2009 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru

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Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's 2009s have turned out just as brilliantly as I had hoped. The wines reflect the signature qualities of the year, but never lose their essential classicism. Long-time DRC fans know the domaine bottles in six-barrel lots, which naturally introduces a level of bottle variation that is not found in most other wines. I hope the massive amount of information that has recently come to light regarding counterfeit wines and their proliferation might be the catalyst for the domaine to consider bottling their wines in one homogenous lot, as is common for the vast majority of high-quality wines throughout the world. Once the domaine's wines mature in 20-30 years it will be impossible to tell the difference between ‘normal' bottle variation, poorly stored bottles and very good fakes. Certainly consumers who are willing and able to pay the prices these wines fetch are at the very least deserving of a consistent product.

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The historic Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has recently moved offices to a renovated complex in the center of Vosne. Aubert de Villaine compares The 2009s to the 1959s. I will have to take his word for it, as I wasn't even close to being born when those wines were made. De Villaine thinks The 2009s will remain open throughout their lives. Unfortunately I wasn't able to taste the Grands-Echézeaux, Richebourg and Romanée-St. Vivant, as the wines were bottled in the days leading up to my visit. I will report on those wines from bottle later this year. The harvest started on September 10th with Corton and ended on September 19th with the last of the Echézeaux. The 2009s were vinified with 100% whole clusters and aged in 100% new oak barrels.

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Aubert de Villaine is an honest judge of vintages, so I was not surprised to hear him describe 2009 as a vintage of charm. "It's a vintage with a smiling face, for both the vigneron and the consumer," he told me. "But so far it doesn't have the dimension or complexity of 2005 or 1999." The team here typically vinified with about 90% whole clusters. The malos finished on the early side-in the spring-but de Villaine was in no rush to bottle the '09s. Potential alcohol levels were generally 12.8% to 13% in 2009, and there were plenty of millerande grapes to release their sugars at the end of the fermentations, which typically gives a wine more glycerol. "The 2009s are more sensual, the 2008s more spiritual," he summarized. "The 2009s are like spending time with a courtesan, the 2008s like spending time with an intellectual." They're both pretty sexy.

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