Grand Cru Monopole Burgundy Tasting at Wine Watch

"Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine." 
Genesis 27:28

Unfortunately, god did not give us plenty of Domaine de La Romanee Conti.  One of the reasons that this is one of the most expensive wines on the planet earth is that they only make just over a thousand cases of each of these Grand Cru wines from any vintage.  The other reason is that they have had a thousand years of marketing in the wine industry.  There are not many regions of the wine world that have the history of Burgundy's Cote D'Or and with that history comes a very high price tag.

Burgundy is simple in that there are only 2 grapes grown here, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but there are over 600 villages making it incredibly confusing.  With all the different villages there are only 4 that are categorized as Grand Cru Monopole.  Monopole means that there is only a single producer that makes wine from this vineyard and Grand Cru means that the dirt here is considered to be the most unique conducive to making KILLER juice every year.  We have 3 of the 4 Grand Cru monopoles on the table tonight and the only reason that we don't have Romanee Conti is because it would add another zero on to the price of this event.  I did include all the DRC and the other wines we are showing this evening on this offering we have just received the 2016 DRC wines and we have the cheapest price in the world on the two 2016 DRC OWC we have on this offering.

I have also included a few vintages of Clos Du Lambrays which is almost owned entirely by one person, this property was recently acquired by Bernard Arnault the owner of LVMH.  The remaining tenth of an acre of Clos des Lambrays belongs to Domaine Taupenot-Merme. Co-owner and winemaker Romain Taupenot said that any dream Arnault might have of a monopoly will have to wait. "If Bernard Arnault would like to sell to us a part of the Clos des Lambrays that he just bought, we would obviously be ready to listen," said Taupenot as quoted in the Wine Spectator.

And just for fun I also threw in the 2004 vintage of Comte de Vogue Musigny, not a Monopole grand cru either but one of my favorite Grand Crus and one of the best producers in Burgundy- you know you always get extra at our “Once in a Lifetime” wine tasting events and this is the first of the extra’s as we will be starting with Champagne and finishing with Sauternes also!!

This is a truly "Once in a Lifetime" wine tasting opportunity and the food will also be amazing at this event with the A5 Japanese Waygu Filet Mignon as the main course and of course there will be Foie Gras and epoisses cheese on the menu.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions and chef Toni will be happy to accommodate you. The price to attend this event is $650 + tax per person and there are only 12 spaces available at this event, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Grand Cru Monopole Burgundy Tasting
Because if you have these wines you need to drink them!!
Saturday, June 29th
7:30pm

1997 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache Grand Cru Monopole

1999 Domaine Lamarche Vosne Romanee La Grande Rue Grand Cru Monopole

2004 Mommessin Clos de Tart Grand Cru Monopole

2004 Compte de Vogue Musigny Vielles Vignes Grand Cru

2011 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru (375ml)

2013 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

2014 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

2015 Domaine des Lambrays Clos Des Lambrays Grand Cru

2016 Domaine des Lambrays Clos Des Lambrays Grand Cru

Menu
Foie Gras Torchon
A-5 Japanese Waygu Filet Mignon seared in Bacon Fat served with Cherry Flan
Epoisses raspberry tart

There are only 12 seats available for this event.  The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $650 per person + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

A bit about Domaine de La Romanee Conti:

Probably one of the most sought after wines by collectors of fine Burgundies are the wines of Domaine De La Romanée Conti (also called simply DRC).  They carry a sort of mystique about them that you only find in collectibles such as a Picasso, or a Rembrant- things that only an elite few can afford to own and even fewer really appreciate.  

Talk of Lafite or Mouton or the upstart Petrus pales in significance when one considers that this precious piece of earth was a sacred spot five centuries before the first words were ever written about claret.  Consider, for example, the significance of that crisp, fall day in 1241 when the landscape was red with the color of wine, and the air was laden with the smell of it.  The monks gathered in their Abbey at the Vosne and decided to sell the vineyard of Romanée-Conti.  They had owned it for almost 200 years and it was a monumental event when it returned to private hands.  Over the ensuing centuries, inheritance laws and the wave of anti-clericism that followed the French Revolution caused the great growths of Burgundy to be divided into a thousand meager plots.  So sacred was the vineyard of Romanée-Conti, that it never once sub-divided through nine changes of ownership.

The vineyard was once called La Romanée until it was purchased by the Prince de Conti in 1760.  De Conti acquired the vineyard only after a great struggle.  The other contestant was King Louis the Fourteenth’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour.  The prince held a banquet to celebrate the acquisition; underscoring the significance of the event was the fact that it was attended by figures such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau; even a very young Mozart was there to play the harpsichord.  When the Conti fled France during the revolution, Romanée-Conti changed hands several more times – among its owners was Napoleon’s banker.

Today’s proprietors, the Leroys and the De Villaines, have run the Domaine jointly since 1942.  After an emotional power struggle, Aubert De Villaine, who has co-managed the Domaine for 19 years, has emerged from the shadows of the ubiquitous and flamboyant Madame Bize Leroy (who was booted out by the De Villaines and other members of the Leroy family for alleged conflicts of interest).

Many critics, in describing these wines, talk of the continuity of house style and the winemaking genius of the Domaine.  The quietly purposeful Aubert De Villaine takes a little credit for the greatness of these wines.  He speaks of the “genius of the terroir” and of the Domaine’s efforts to keep the winemaking as simple and natural as possible.  American viticulturists may think they have a corner on organic farming, but De Villaine notes that the Domaine’s wines are 100 percent organic.  There are no sprays or pesticides used in the vineyard.  Although De Villaine pays homage to technology and talks of clonal research, he stresses that everything is done to ensure as little manipulation of the wine is done as possible.  Except for the 100 percent new oak, which is used with every one of the Domaine’s wines and the fact that as of 1995 the wines are no longer bottled by barrel (which critics claimed caused bottle variation), one gets the impression that things are done much in the same manner as they were 100 years ago.  De Villaine is succinct:  “There is more to be learned in what not to do than there is in what to do.  Nothing is more difficult than to be simple”.

There are some wine writers that feel there is somewhat of a secret when it comes to the wines of this fabled estate.  Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate has stated that the Domaine’s use of lightly toasted François Frères barrels (the preferred source for most of the great estates of the Côte d’Or), which are air dried for three years prior to use, could have something to do with it.  However, Bernard Noblet, the cellar master, has assured that they are neither steam cleaned nor are they rubbed with any special ointments as speculation has suggested. 

La Tâche is entirely owned by Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, a fact that makes it a "monopole."  The domaine has exclusive rights on a second vineyard -- the grand cru Romanee-Conti itself.  It's almost joined at the hip with La Tache; they are within a stone's throw of one another. And just like the great grands crus from the Côte d'Or, Burgundy's "golden slope," both vineyards are well-drained and exposed to the east-southeast; both tilt down gently on the hillside toward the stone walls surrounding Vosne-Romanee.  This village lies in the center of the Cote de Nuits, and its grands crus are the sirloin cut of red Burgundy country: no sinewy tannins, just a marbling of smooth texture.  The wines made here are famous for their spicy, perfumy nose, highlighted by cinnamon and earthy notes that rely more on spices than red or black fruits.

1969 Domaine De La Romanee Conti Romanee Conti Grand Cru
Price: $22500.00    Sale Price: $19500.00  Quantity in Stock: 1

1970 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru Magnum
Price: $2500.00    Sale Price: $1950.00       Quantity in Stock: 1

1978 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Price: $3200.00    Sale Price: $2600.00       Quantity in Stock: 1

1978 Domaine De La Romanee Conti Romanee Conti Grand Cru
Price: $25000.00    Sale Price: $20000.00  Quantity in Stock: 1

1981 Domaine de La Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru
Price: $2350.00    Sale Price: $1750.00       Quantity in Stock: 1

1985 Domaine De La Romanee Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru
Price: $2500.00    Sale Price: $2000.00       Quantity in Stock: 2

1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru
Price: $23000.00    Sale Price: $19000.00  Quantity in Stock: 1

1990 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Richebourg Grand Cru
Price: $4500.00    Your Price: $3960.00      Quantity in Stock: 1

1990 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache Grand Cru
Price: $6950.00    Your Price: $6116.00      Quantity in Stock: 2

1990 Domaine de La Romanee Conti Romanee Conti Grand Cru
Price: $27500.00    Your Price: $24200.00 Quantity in Stock: 1

1992 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru
Price: $2500.00    Sale Price: $1950.00       Quantity in Stock: 1

1995 Domaine De La Romanee Conti Romanee Conti Grand Cru
Price: $21500.00    Your Price: $18920.00 Quantity in Stock: 1

1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru
Price: $5000.00    Your Price: $4400.00      Quantity in Stock: 1

1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti
Price: $23500.00    Your Price: $20680.00 Quantity in Stock: 1

1997 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache Grand Cru
Price: $4900.00    Your Price: $4312.00      Quantity in Stock: 5

2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru
Price: $2150.00    Sale Price: $1892.00       Quantity in Stock: 1

2005 Domaine de La Romanee Conti La Tache Grand Cru
Price: $6000.00    Your Price: $5280.00      Quantity in Stock: 1

We have the cheapest price in the world on these two new arrivals in OWC!

2016 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru OWC
Price: $2995.00    Your Price: $2635.00      Quantity in Stock: 6

2016 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache Grand Cru OWC
Price: $5500.00    Your Price: $4840.00      Quantity in Stock: 6

This estate was established in 1865 at La Grange St. Pierre in the heart of Burgundy in an ancient stone building once belonging to the Abbey of Cluny.  First a distiller, then a winemaker, Jean Marie Mommessin, carefully added prestigious vineyards to his holdings, which now boast some of the top grand cru and premier cru holdings in all of Burgundy, including the only Monopole grand cru owned by a single family that exists in Burgundy today, Clos Du Tart in Morey St. Denis.  Today, the fourth generation of the Mommessin family run the estate and has expanded their holdings even further into Beaujolais and the Rhone Valley, still in search of the best terroir available. 

Clos De Tart is in Morey St. Denis, in the central part of the Cote De Nuits.  It spreads over more than 7 hectares and has only one owner.  It has belonged to the Mommessin family since 1932, where it was purchased at auction on a rainy day and as rumor has it the rain prevented many potential buyers from showing up that day and the vineyard was acquired for a fraction of what it should have cost.  At the beginning of the 12th Century Clos De Tart was called La Forge.  It was not until 1141 that the vineyard took the name of Clos De Tart after it was acquired by the Bernardines from the abbey of Notre Dame de Tart.  The wines are vinified and bottled on the estate in the Clos cellars.    

2004 Mommessin Clos de Tart Grand Cru
Price: $325.00    Your Price: $286.00          Quantity in Stock: 2

2005 Mommessin Clos Du Tart Grand Cru Magnum
Price: $1596.00    Your Price: $1404.48      Quantity in Stock: 1

Ancestors of the Lamarche family were already established in the village of Vosne-Romanée in around 1740. Since the end of the 19 th century (for five generations), the estate has grown bigger over the years: Henri Lamarche, a cooper, married Marie Grivelet from Chambolle-Musigny and founded the estate at the beginning of the 20 th century He produced, matured and already sold his wines directly from the estate.
Their son, Henri Lamarche, born in 1903, took over the estate. He inherited la Grande Rue in 1933, the year of his marriage to Aline Demur (la Grande Rue would become a grand cru for the INAO in 1989, the decree being passed in 1992). They would have four children, including François and Geneviève.
François took over the 'reins' of the estate when his father died in 1985. Today, there are two generations to welcome you at the estate: François Lamarche and his wife, Marie-Blanche, are in charge, respectively, of the winemaking and sales. Geneviève Lamarche (the sister of François) manages the accounts, Nicole (François and Marie-Blanche's daughter) is taking over the viti-vinicultural part, under the watchful eye of her father, and Nathalie (Geneviève's daughter) the sales part with her aunt.

2009 Domaine Francois Lamarche Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes
Price: $109.00    Your Price: $95.92             Quantity in Stock: 1

2008 Domaine Francois Lamarche Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru
Price: $156.00    Your Price: $137.28          Quantity in Stock: 1

2009 Domaine Francois Lamarche Echezeaux Grand Cru
Price: $179.00    Your Price: $157.52          Quantity in Stock: 4

2009 Domaine Francois Lamarche Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Price: $195.00    Your Price: $171.60          Quantity in Stock: 3

Clos Du Lambrays is the closest thing to a Grand Cru Monopole in the Cotes De Nuits as it is almost owned entirely by one person.  This property was recently acquired by Bernard Arnault the owner of LVMH.  Clos des Lambrays is an enclosed vineyard of almost 21.5 acres near the village of Morey-St.-Denis.   Domaine des Lambrays owns 21.4 acres of the clos, which dates back to the 14th century and was once part of the vast holdings of the Abbey of Citeaux.  The remaining tenth of an acre of Clos des Lambrays belongs to Domaine Taupenot-Merme.

2016 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
Price: $315.00    Your Price: $277.20          Quantity in Stock: 23

2011 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru (375ml)
Price: $115.00    Your Price: $101.20          Quantity in Stock: 4

2015 Domaine des Lambrays Clos Des Lambrays Grand Cru
Price: $300.00    Sale Price: $264.00           Quantity in Stock: 16

2015 Domaine des Lambrays Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres
Price: $187.50    Your Price: $165.00          Quantity in Stock: 3

2014 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
Price: $250.00    Your Price: $220.00          Quantity in Stock: 21

2013 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
Price: $240.00    Sale Price: $211.20           Quantity in Stock: 6

I know that this is not a Monopole but it’s one of my favorite wines and I thought it would be fun to try the 2004 Musigny by Vogue next to the Clos De tart!

1996 Comte Georges de Vogue Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru
Price: $650.00    Your Price: $572.00          Quantity in Stock: 1

2005 Compte de Vogue Musigny Vielles Vignes Grand Cru
Price: $1750.00    Your Price: $1540.00      Quantity in Stock: 2

2016 Domaine Comte Georges De Vogue Musigny Grand Cru
Price: $825.00    Your Price: $726.00          Quantity in Stock: 6

2002 Comte de Vogue Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Price: $595.00    Your Price: $523.60          Quantity in Stock: 1

2002 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru
Price: $259.00    Your Price: $227.92          Quantity in Stock: 3

1996 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Price: $600.00    Your Price: $528.00          Quantity in Stock: 3