2021 Romanee Conti (Banded Case)

The 2021 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru wafts across the palate with haunting aromatics and tons of sheer aristocratic beauty. It's like a bespoke suit or couture dress in which the details are present, but also incredibly subtle and only really evident to the discerning eye. I realize that might sound haughty, but I don't know of any other way to describe the 2021. It's a wine of haunting beauty that is classic Romanée-Conti in its mix of elusiveness and sheer allure.

The 2021 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru was picked on September 25, and thanks to protective wax candles placed in the vineyard during frost, yields are almost the highest of the Domaine at 20hL / h * a over double that of La Tâche. It was bottled three months earlier than that cuvée on January 11. Ever so slightly lighter in color than La Tâche, it has a transparent, pure and slightly tertiary bouquet that side-by-side, does not quite possess the same complexity. With brambly red fruit, bay leaf and hints of Earl Grey (a common feature amongst the 2021s), it foments a subtle pressed flower element with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannins not dissimilar to the La Täche, maybe a bit more assertive towards the finish, converting that "constrained gravitas I remarked upon out of barrel. Lovely raciness on the finish, real energy. Yet side-by-side, I aver that the La Tache has a little more panache this year. 403 cases produced.

Co-director Bertrand de Villaine describes Romanée-Conti as 'always in another universe', especially in more difficult vintages. Vines are around 60 years old, harvested 25 September 2021 with a yield of 20 hl/ha. Total production 403 cases of 12, bottled 11 January 2023. Mid to light ruby and a little more evolved in colour than La Tâche, with a suggestion of brick red at the rim. Smells of tiny, sweet, wild red berries and is seductively floral at the same time, plus just a hint of toasty oak. Lightly stemmy on the nose and more so on the palate, giving a dry yet mouth-watering effect in the mouth. The tannins are delicate, definite, extremely tense as they build in the mouth, high-wire and high energy. Long in its dry, elegant purity.