Domaine de la Romanée-Conti : Corton-Charlemagne Grand cru 2021

Characteristics and tasting tips for the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2021

Tasting

Color

The color is a pale yellow adorned with golden highlights.

Nose

The nose reveals remarkable intensity, expressing notes of ripe white peach combined with tones of vanilla and oriental spices, including cinnamon and coriander.

Palate

On the palate, this wine presents a round and rich attack, characterized by a beautiful mineral freshness that emerges on the finish. The balance and aromatic concentration are remarkable, with a long and persistent finish.

Food and wine pairings

The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2021 pairs harmoniously with seafood and noble shellfish, particularly roasted lobster or scallops in cream sauce with black truffles. It also enhances delicate fish in mousseline sauce as well as poultry with cream and mushrooms. Aged hard cheeses such as 24-month Comté, Beaufort or Parmesan are also excellent partners.

Service and cellaring

This Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2021 should be served at a temperature between 12 and 14°C. Decanting for approximately thirty minutes is recommended to allow the wine to fully express its organoleptic potential. Thanks to its structure and harmonious balance between richness and freshness, this wine presents a cellaring potential estimated between 2031 and 2036, which can extend to around 2041 for bottles kept in optimal conditions.

An exceptional white Burgundy wine from a challenging vintage

The estate

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has been rooted in Burgundy's winemaking heritage since the thirteenth century, when the monks of the Saint-Vivant priory began planting vines on this exceptional terroir. Structured in its current form in 1942 by Edmond Gaudin de Villaine, the estate today spans approximately twenty-nine hectares distributed between the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. Since 2022, Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de Villaine have co-managed the estate, perpetuating a philosophy of excellence based on biodynamic agriculture practiced since 1986 and yields voluntarily limited to between twenty and thirty hectoliters per hectare. Renowned worldwide as one of Burgundy's most prestigious producers, the estate embodies a vision of heritage transmission where each generation considers itself the temporary guardian of a timeless legacy.

The vineyard

Representing approximately seven acres of vineyard on the Hill of Corton, the plots dedicated to the production of this Corton-Charlemagne rest on Jurassic marl soils varying from yellowish to ochre and brown, enriched with clay and alternating with limestone banks under a thin layer of rendzinas. Located between 280 and 330 meters above sea level, they benefit from steep slopes reaching 20 to 23% and a general south-west exposure, creating conditions of natural drainage and sun exposure favoring complete phenolic and aromatic ripening of the Chardonnay. The vineyard is managed according to biodynamic principles, in perfect coherence with the philosophy of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

The vintage

The 2021 vintage in Burgundy is set within a distinctly challenging climatic context, marked by extremely difficult weather conditions. After a winter alternating between mild and cold weather, spring frost episodes occurred from April 6 to 8, caused by the arrival of a very cold air mass following ten particularly warm days. These destructive spring frosts affected the entire Burgundian vineyard and caused significant damage, significantly reducing yields. The months of April and May proved abnormally cold, with May recording a deviation of minus 2.3°C compared to historical averages. The vines struggled to return to a normal vegetative cycle, requiring a wait until the first days of June before temperatures returned to stable seasonal values. Despite these considerable climatic adversities and the resulting low yields, the vintage is characterized by great freshness.

Winemaking and aging

The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2021 is vinified according to the estate's traditional philosophy, prioritizing a minimal approach respectful of the grape's integrity. Harvests are carried out as late as possible to obtain optimal phenolic maturity. Vinification takes place without artificial temperature manipulation, preserving the natural expression of the terroir. Aging is carried out entirely in new oak barrels, renewed annually, allowing for constant interaction between the wine and the wood compounds of the barrel. During the first year of aging, the wines benefit from the naturally favorable thermal and hygrometric conditions of the estate's historic cellars in Vosne-Romanée.

Grape variety

Chardonnay (100%)