OLLY SMITH: The Pink Floyd of pinot costs £1,800 a bottle, but I've found something else with two noughts knocked off
The most iconic Pinot Noir in the world comes from the tiny Burgundian vineyard of Romanée-Conti.
Part of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti estate, aka ‘DRC’ or simply ‘The Domaine’, this place is as close as it gets to being sacred, producing wines of incredible dynamism – I’ve never tasted vino more alive in the glass.
Gazing out at this legendary 1.81 hectares of land, I’m struck by its humble appearance, the winter-whipped vines twisting up from the soil like muscular aerials, ready to broadcast the echoing message from beneath this hallowed ground.
A Grand Cru vineyard – the highest classification – it’s also an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, just like Champagne and Côtes du Rhône.
This is the epicentre of Pinotland. But what exactly makes it so special?
Centuries of accumulated knowledge, the effect of the iron-rich limestone over rock and marl about 800ft above sea level and the low yields from carefully cultivated Pinot Noir vines.
But most of all, it’s down to the thinking behind the wine. In partnership with Henry-Frédéric Roch, Aubert de Villaine is the great mind behind the weaving of these vines into wines.
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He’s devoted to working in harmony with his vineyards, farming with biodynamic principles.
The results are spectacular: wines so vivid it’s as though you’re sipping the living spirit of the vines.
On my recent visit to The Domaine, I was lucky enough to sample the 2011 Romanée-Conti from the barrel, which is as intense and ethereal as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon.
Meanwhile, the 2010 has just been released, and it’s as tight as a rosebud, with hidden layers waiting to be teased out in time. I find in my notes the words ‘larger than a glass can carry’.
If you can get your hands on it, a single bottle will set you back a whopping £1,825 (from Corney & Barrow).
Thankfully, you can sip Pinot Noir from nearby vineyards for much less. Arnoux-Lachaux’s Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Suchots 2007 is £913.69 for a case of six, and comes from a vineyard just a stone’s throw from Romanée-Conti.
And as my recommendations below reveal, you can find decent Pinot Noir that won’t break the bank further afield.
I’ll probably never again experience Pinot Noir as haunting as Romanée-Conti.
But I’ll remember the privilege every day for the rest of my life.
