2006 Romanee-Conti
By Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
2006 Romanée-Conti from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Burgundy, France
The fine wine domain of Burgundy is eternally linked with the resplendent 2006 Romanée-Conti from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, a vintage which emanates the unparalleled craft of its creators. This is a wine where each swirl in the glass reveals an additional layer of complexity, reflecting a year that presented vignerons with challenges that were triumphantly surmounted.
An Exquisite Testament to Terroire and Talent
The 2006 vintage was marked by an unexpectedly warm September after a tumultuous summer, bestowing upon the Pinot Noir grapes used in the 2006 Romanée-Conti an exceptional balance of ripeness and acidity. The resultant wine is a testament to the expertise at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in manoeuvring the capricious nature of climate to unveil a libation that speaks confidently of its terroir.
A Vintage Distinguished by Elegance and Balance
In my tasting, the 2006 Romanée-Conti proffers a bouquet redolent with ripe strawberries, wild cherries and hints of earthy truffle – a palette quite evocative for an investor or enthusiast. Tannins, once vivid in their youth, have softened considerably to create an embracing structure that allows dark berries and a subtle oak influence to interplay harmoniously on the palate. This wine unfurls an unending finish that is both silky and vibrant, harbinger to its ageing prowess over the coming years.
A profound candidate for investment, the 2006 vintage from this iconic estate continues to ascend in desirability due to its elegance and exquisite balance. Particularly for those well-acquainted with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's portfolio, it occupies a place of respect not merely as a drink but as an asset of enduring worth.
In summation, it's imperative to recognise that each Romanée-Conti vintage is a chapter in Burgundy’s enological narrative. The 2006 chapter is imbued with tight-knit complexity and promises a future where every sip reiterates why Domaine de la Romanée-Conti remains one of Burgundy's most exalted scripts.
Market price (HKD)
HK$1,695,650.00
12x75cl
Highest score
98
POP score
9855
Scores and tasting notes
An extraordinary as well as extraordinarily intense aromatic display greets you from the glass of 2006 Romanee-Conti. Rose petals, griotte cherries, almond extract, mint, and cinnamon once again put me in mind of archetypal pinot with a soupcon of Gewurztraminer. The remarkable perfume and spice continue inner-mouth, allied to a silken textural refinement (as if the tannins were self-dissolving); to pure, fresh, but not at all superficially sweet cherry and raspberry essence; and to deep, marrowy meatiness and hints of truffle and forest floor. This pivots at midpoint, as it were – though far more subtly than does its Richebourg sibling – from perfume and fruit to almost sinister animal and mineral suggestions. The finish here is at once positively ethereal and deeply, darkly mysterious, like lingering harmony at the extremes of audibility. I suspect it will also outlive the other wines from this estate and vintage. The Domaine de La Romanee-Conti harvested from the 20th-25th of September (commencing with Richebourg) and subjected the crop to rigorous sorting. Understandably, the viticultural meticulousness at this estate as well as its team of some 60 highly-skilled and –motivated pickers paid dividends in the context of a challenging vintage. Director Aubert de Villaine and cellarmaster Bernard Noblet vinified their 2006s with a lesser share of stems and whole clusters, and exposed them to new wood for a shorter period (thereafter racking into older barrels) than the corresponding 2005s. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661
David Schildknecht - The Wine Advocate, 21 December 2009