When I received an email from the editor asking whether I’d like to represent The Buyer at the annual Domaine de la Romanée-Conti tasting in London my first thought was obviously yes, I’d love to. But then the anxiety crept in and I began to worry more and more as the day drew near.
My biggest concern was my nose or rather my potential lack of nose function. Like many people in Britain, I have been battling a cold since December which comes and goes without ever getting severe enough to brave the receptionists at our GP. As one friend said about his ill health, quoting Michael Corleone, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” I could see myself waking up on the appointed day and not being able to smell or taste a thing.
Worse still, what if I arrived at Corney & Barrow with all my olfactory equipment in full working order and the wines were wasted on me? I find en primeur Bordeaux pretty much impossible to enjoy or assess. Would it be the same with DRC?
At least with Bordeaux, I could join in the discussion a bit, I have very little experience of drinking top Burgundy so I vowed not to say anything. “It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it” as Abraham Lincoln once said. Or perhaps Mark Twain. Someone clever and American. There’s something about the rarified atmosphere of a smart wine tasting that brings out my clumsy side. I had visions of accidentally sending thousands of pounds worth of Burgundy and Riedel flying.
There were other anxieties. What would I wear? I thought a pinstripe suit would be suitably old school wine trade but I got mine out of the cupboard and it seemed to have shrunk. In light of the weather, my wife suggested my more generously cut Daks tweed suit.
The day arrived and my nasal passages were clear! I could smell, though I still had a very irritating dry cough. And good news on the transport front, South Eastern trains were on time so I arrived with a good ten minutes to spare. I was ushered into an anteroom. I didn’t recognise anyone initially – where were my usual cronies? Where was Will Lyons when you need him? The atmosphere was hushed, alive with anticipation. This wasn’t another day at the office. Everyone was dressed discreetly in grey or blue whereas I looked like a bookie from Donegal up in town for a spree. Oh dear.
2022 - a year of good rain
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2022 launch. Adam Brett-Smith, Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de Villaine (l-r)
With suitable reverence, we were ushered downstairs. At the top table sat Adam Brett-Smith from C&B with the co-directors of DRC, Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de Villaine. Rather ominously ABS said that this would be more of “a discussion not a masterclass.” He outlined the vintage describing it as a year of “good rain”.
Fenal elaborated: “Everything seemed too much - too much heat, sunshine, grapes, barrels and wine.” 2022 had a bumper crop compared with the meagre 2021. She continued “We had long periods of drought interrupted by rainfall. Rain at the right moment swelled the grapes with juice. Everything that could have been too much is now just right.” She described it as an “exceptional vintage.” There was a palpable excitement in the air at having such a good wine to taste but also having so much wine to sell. But would I be able to appreciate the wine?
And then the tasting. I expected a thimble of each but the wines were poured generously. First up the Vosne Romanée, only made in exceptional years. I took a sniff and it smelled really oaky – good oak, expensive oak, but mainly oak. Nose don’t fail me now! With time some fruit revealed itself. Taking a sip it was clearly an exceptional wine but somewhat aloof. Oh dear. Could DRC perhaps not be the transcendent experience everyone says it is?
In contrast the oak in the next wine the Corton was in the background allowing the fragrance and fruit to shine. I was beginning to appreciate the fineness of the tannins, like perfectly sanded wood. The Échézeaux and Grand Échézeaux both had that haunting perfume with the latter firmer and more tightly coiled. I was starting to enjoy myself.
I wasn’t sure whether I should spit or not, most people were but it seemed crazy to waste such expensive wine. In the end I made sure I swallowed at least one mouthful of each. I wanted to get the full sensory experience while keeping a fairly clear head.
I wasn’t, however, prepared for what happened next. The arrival of Romanée St. Vivant. Extraordinary ripeness on the nose: wild strawberries, perfumed with a cinnamon note. My God, this is heady! And then the Richebourg, more structured, but with a ripeness that was quite overwhelming emotionally.
All this led up to the sheer magnificence of the La Tâche which was so opulent with fruit that it was almost too much. The whole experience was like visiting a bazaar with each room containing a more dazzling, finely-woven Persian carpet than the last. Which brings me on to the final wines, the Romanée Conti itself and a solitary white, the Corton-Charlemagne. Well, words failed me at this point, so I’ll quote the late Roger Scruton who at the DRC tasting at first compared the Romanée Conti to Saint-Saëns’s 2nd cello concerto and then crossed that out and wrote, simply “damned good”. You can read my attempt to describe it below.
Quality and quantity
Afterwards the dreaded discussion. Worryingly ABS said, playing the head master, he would choose someone to give their opinion but happily didn’t pick me and instead one writer gave a very learned run down about where 2022 sits in the pantheon of great recent DRC vintages - very high, it seems.
Fendal said: “2020s were unruly crazy horses at this stage whereas the 2022 have a settled quality already, calm and serene. Surprising for such young wines.” While ABS praised the wines’ “succulence and flesh” and added “how wonderful to have so much of it!”
I had struck lucky, my first ever DRC tasting and it was not only one of the great vintages but one that was showing beautifully even at such a young age. Each wine was so individual but clearly part of the same family. When writers rhapsodise about Burgundy, it is wines like that 2022 La Tâche that they’re thinking about. Wines that stir the emotions and defy description and indeed scoring.
Tasting notes
Corton-Charlemagne 2022
Pale yellow colour with a hint of green.
On the nose the first thing I got was limes, very pure citrus with vanilla and something like satsuma peel. After some time it was more like lemon.
Firm acidity and then it just builds and builds with spice, hazelnut and mineral oyster shell notes. Very very young, tightly coiled. I'd love to try this in 10 years or more.
Romanée-Conti 2022
Fresh and floral, red cherry, subtle spice - doesn't have the massive opulence of the La Tâche.
The palate is so fresh and vibrant, it's hard to describe and it might be the label but it seems to dance on the palate. Compared with some of the other 2022s, it's lithe, even a little austere, but there's no shortage of ripeness here either and that haunting fragrance!
La Tâche 2022
Wow! This smells incredible, deep dark cherry, even a little medicinal.
On the palate it's extraordinarily ripe, so full and soft, incredible richness, ripeness and flavour with a freshness and those fine tannins lurking in the background, keeping it all together. It's almost too much. But it's not. It's perfect. You could drink this now.
Richebourg 2022
There's a distinct note of spice on the nose which I couldn't quite place. Opulent fruit here too
Fine tannins, warm, extraordinary ripeness, textured with spicy nutty notes on the finish.Such opulence!
Romanée St.Vivant 2022
Extraordinary ripeness on the nose: wild strawberries, perfumed with a cinnamon note. My God, this is heady!
Explodes with sweet fruit on the palate, dark cherry with fine tannins. Hedonistic. Really showing the ripeness of the 2022 vintage.
Grands-Échézeaux 2022
This is all perfume on the nose, floral with cinnamon in the background. There's a whiff of something like cheese rind, oddly.
Firm tannin, structured, a little austere even but with a sort of creamy texture.
Great potential.
Échézeaux 2022
Initially it's the oak that predominates on the nose with a distinct nutty quality followed by violets and salinity. Fine grained tannin, crunchy red fruit, quite a bit of grip. There's a herbal note: thyme? Then the finish is intense and mineral.
Corton Grand Cru, Domaine Prince Florent de Merode 2022
In contrast to the Vosne the fruit is to the fore on the nose with strawberry and red cherry with toasty spice lurking in the background.
The palate is very fresh and perfumed, quite light bodied initially with fine tannins and some weight on the finish.
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault-Blochet 2022
Spicy nose with lots of toasty oak. Oak is quite dominant at the moment. There's red fruit underneath that cinnamon spiciness.
Full body, perfect ripeness here, there's a warmth in the mouth with meaty roasty notes, fine-grained tannins and a savoury finish.
Henry Jeffreys is the author of many drinks books including a history of English wine in Vines in a Cold Climate. He also co-hosts Intoxicating History, a podcast with the Queen's son Tom Parker Bowles Sign up for Intoxicating History by clicking on the link.
The wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are imported and sold in the UK through Coreny & Barrow which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
