Producer of the Year: Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

DJ · 2011-11-27 22:28:02

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8641/drc800.jpg Producer of the Year: Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Text Contribution - John Kapon The world is shifting quickly. DRC never does. Not with the perspective of over 1000 years of history behind it. Yet over the past year it has been at the forefront of changing how the world views wine. The most visible example is how its acclaim, the respect in which it is held, by wine lovers and collectors, is shifting the world’s attention towards Burgundy. With Bordeaux we witnessed a few iconic and large properties drawing almost all of the attention and headlines. There are broader forces at work for Burgundy. There is increasing recognition that the many individuals responsible for a multitude of very special vineyards in Burgundy, what are comparatively small pieces of soil and rock that usually produce only hundreds or fewer cases - not many thousands - of wine every vintage are creating wines whose quality, and unique stamp of place, is what collectors worldwide should seek. DRC’s street cred, and the inherent story of its vineyards not the chateau or estate, is making collectors shift their attention towards many, many Burgundy producers. And as a result we are seeing a more even, and well-deserved, distribution of collectors’ attention and competition at auction for Burgundy’s great wines, and not solely for its grand crus. Again, it is DRC and its vineyards that are the major driver of this broader global momentum. http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5395/redwine7608.jpg None of this would be possible without the hard work of DRC over decades and recent years to insure that their vineyards’ integrity is preserved and enhanced. This commitment goes beyond their most famous vineyards, Romanee-Conti and La Tache. Burgundy lovers know well the attention DRC has paid to its Romanee-St.-Vivant over the past 15-20 years, seeking to make sure that that wine was the best expression of the vineyard that DRC could make. The prices at auction reflect the results of that commitment. And in the coming year of 2012 we will see the release of the first ever vintage of a DRC wine from outside its core of Vosne-Romanee and the Cote de Nuits. The 2009 Corton, from the Cote de Beaune, is sure to be historic for many, many reasons and shift attention more and more to that wonderful stretch of more southern Burgundy vineyards. That historic shift, in tandem with what is occurring globally with Burgundy due in large part to DRC, makes DRC the Producer of the Year in my view. New vintages of DRC’s wines are very difficult to acquire; they are veritable needles in haystacks upon release. The best source for their wines is currently the auction market, where you will see a regular, yet random, selection of their wines on a monthly basis. For more information, please feel free to email our friends at Acker Wines in NYC here: info@ackerwines.com http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/2646/assorted1611.jpg

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11-27-2011, 05:28 PM

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Producer of the Year: Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

Producer of the Year: Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
Text Contribution - John Kapon

The world is shifting quickly. DRC never does. Not with the perspective of over 1000 years of history behind it. Yet over the past year it has been at the forefront of changing how the world views wine.

The most visible example is how its acclaim, the respect in which it is held, by wine lovers and collectors, is shifting the world’s attention towards Burgundy. With Bordeaux we witnessed a few iconic and large properties drawing almost all of the attention and headlines. There are broader forces at work for Burgundy.

There is increasing recognition that the many individuals responsible for a multitude of very special vineyards in Burgundy, what are comparatively small pieces of soil and rock that usually produce only hundreds or fewer cases - not many thousands - of wine every vintage are creating wines whose quality, and unique stamp of place, is what collectors worldwide should seek. DRC’s street cred, and the inherent story of its vineyards not the chateau or estate, is making collectors shift their attention towards many, many Burgundy producers. And as a result we are seeing a more even, and well-deserved, distribution of collectors’ attention and competition at auction for Burgundy’s great wines, and not solely for its grand crus. Again, it is DRC and its vineyards that are the major driver of this broader global momentum.

None of this would be possible without the hard work of DRC over decades and recent years to insure that their vineyards’ integrity is preserved and enhanced. This commitment goes beyond their most famous vineyards, Romanee-Conti and La Tache. Burgundy lovers know well the attention DRC has paid to its Romanee-St.-Vivant over the past 15-20 years, seeking to make sure that that wine was the best expression of the vineyard that DRC could make. The prices at auction reflect the results of that commitment. And in the coming year of 2012 we will see the release of the first ever vintage of a DRC wine from outside its core of Vosne-Romanee and the Cote de Nuits. The 2009 Corton, from the Cote de Beaune, is sure to be historic for many, many reasons and shift attention more and more to that wonderful stretch of more southern Burgundy vineyards. That historic shift, in tandem with what is occurring globally with Burgundy due in large part to DRC, makes DRC the Producer of the Year in my view.

New vintages of DRC’s wines are very difficult to acquire; they are veritable needles in haystacks upon release. The best source for their wines is currently the auction market, where you will see a regular, yet random, selection of their wines on a monthly basis.

For more information, please feel free to email our friends at Acker Wines in NYC here: info@ackerwines.com