This exalted position -- and limited production volume, customers, and selling effort required -- renders a visit to the property a hard get. Due to Ron's hard work, however, we were able to secure an invitation and visited this hallowed ground (in accompaniment with Rajat Parr) on April 30th of this year. The DRC visit actually unfolded over three days with the winery visit/tasting and a brief trip to the Vosne-Romanee vineyards on the 30th, a visit to the Grand Cru vineyards of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet on May 1, and a more extensive visit to the Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Échézeaux vineyards occurring on May 2nd. Despite the actual order of the visits, I will discuss the vineyards first and then follow up with the vinicultural environment and the tasting.
Currently DRC farms 27.8146 ha of vines distributed among the Grand Cru vineyards illustrated in the maps and pictures provided below. Of that total: 25.54 ha are owned and 2.2746 ha rented; 27.1446 are planted to Pinot Noir and 0.67 ha to Chardonnay; 16.67 ha are in Vosne-Romanée, 8.2 ha in Flagey-Échézeaux, 0.67 ha in Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, and 2.2746 ha in Aloxe-Corton; and two vineyards (7.87 ha) are monopole.
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| Montrachet illustrated by the wine-colored rectangle. Source: katabami.info. |
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| Chevalier-Montrachet in foreground and Montrachet beyond. |
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| Ron at Chevalier-Montrachet |
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| DRC owns vineyards in all of the above Grand Cru properties except La Grande Rue and La Romanée. Source: theamailife.blogspot.com |
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| Corton showing the three climats (midpoint, right-hand side) wherein DRC has rented land: Les Clos du Roi, Bressandes, and Renardes. |
DRC Vineyards and Production
Commune
|
Grand Cru Vineyard
|
Size (ha)/DRC Share
|
Soils
|
Average Vine Age (Years)
|
Production (2010 btls)
|
Vosne-Romanée
|
La Tâche
|
6.06/All
|
Brown calcareous; deeper at top
|
50
|
15,763
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Romanée Conti
|
1.81/All
|
Brown limestone soils 60 cm deep; major clay component
|
50
|
4636
|
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Richebourg
|
8.03/3.51
|
Brown calcareous over hard limestone
|
45
|
11,323
|
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Romanée-Saint-Vivant
|
9.3/5.29
|
Similar to Romanée-Conti but deeper
|
35
|
13,910
|
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Flagey-Échezeaux
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Grands Échezeaux
|
9.1/3.5
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Marl and gravel over limestone; eastern exposure; 230 - 300 m elevation
|
52
|
10,834
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Échezeaux
|
38/4.7
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Same as for Grands; 3 - 4% slope; 250 m elevation
|
32
|
14,935
|
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Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet
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Le Montrachet
|
8/.67
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Thinner, stonier, less fertile than neighbors
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70
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2028
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Aloxe-Corton
|
Corton
Rented vyds in 3 climats:
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NA/.5721
NA/1.1944
NA/.5081
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Late Jurassic soils
|
N/A
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First vintage 2009; total of 8480 bottles in 2010
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The farming philosophy that rules at DRC is a "respect for the soils and its equilibrium" with the winemaker's role being restricted to translating the soils' qualities "with fidelity." The vines are farmed biodynamically (over 15 years now) and yields are kept low (20 to 30 hl/ha versus the permitted 42 hl/ha) through a combination of rigorous green harvesting and old vines. The combination of climate, soils, and viticultural practices ensures delivery of consistently high quality fruit to the cellar for the production of these magnificent wines.
My next post will cover vinification at DRC and our tasting.
©Wine -- Mise en abyme
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