One Night in Taipei: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 1995-2017

BY NEAL MARTIN | JUNE 18, 2025

My maiden trip to Taiwan last September commenced with an outstanding Burgundy dinner at Mudan Tempura that I duly wrote up for a Vinous Table.

So, how does one follow that?

The answer was no less than a vertical of Richebourg from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti the following evening. This private dinner brought together a dozen or so of Taipei’s most avid Burgundy collectors, who convened with bottles of Richebourg spanning vintages from 1995 to 2017. Verticals of this scale are not weekly occurrences, and although everyone in attendance was a seasoned Burgundy lover, there was still a frisson of excitement as the bottles were lined up.

Preparations for this dinner were meticulous. I poked my head around the corner to look at the kitchen, where countless wine glasses were being rigorously checked.

A short primer on Richebourg would be useful. The name Richebourg connotes a sense of grandeur. You know you are in serious wine territory, not a wine you will find languishing on a supermarket shelf. Richebourg lies north of Romanée-Conti, separated by a footpath known as the sentier des Raignots. The vines are rooted on clay-limestone soil over pink Prémeaux bedrock. The vineyard was originally owned by the monks of the Citeaux monastery until 1790, the year it was sold off as a bien national to several parties, including the Duvault-Blochet family, whose initial holding forms the domaine’s present vineyard. There are currently 11 owners within the 8.03-hectare Grand Cru. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is the largest by a considerable margin, presiding over 3.51 hectares compared to the second largest, Domaine Leroy, with 0.78 hectares. The climat is divided into two lieux-dits, Les Richebourgs and Les Verroilles, of which Domaine de la Romanée-Conti owns 2.57 and 0.94 hectares, respectively. Those 3.51 total hectares are divided into four parcels: one bordering Romanée-Conti, another adjacent to Romanée-Saint-Vivant, one to the north abutting Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots and another abutting Les Petits Monts.

The vineyard manager from 1986 was Gérard Marlot, who was succeeded by the young Nicolas Jacob from the 2007 vintage. But the period upon which the vintages in this tasting focused could be dubbed “Époque de Bernard Noblet”, the famed cellarmaster who retired in 2018 after four decades of service. Interestingly, the 1995 to 2017 purview traverses the eras before and after the introduction of biodynamic viticulture—the entire domaine was converted by the 2007 vintage.

We warmed up with three magnificent whites that provided an opportunity to compare the 2004 Corton-Charlemagne from Domaine Coche-Dury against that from Christophe Roumier. Roumier is always blasé about his solitary white, and in theory, it should have been an easy win for Jean-François Coche. That was initially the case, as Roumier’s 2004 was a little subdued. However, I noticed how the Roumier blossomed in the glass and by the end, perhaps had its nose in front thanks to its riveting mineralité. I’ve interpolated a recent note of the same wine from Bonneau du Martray—part of whose vines are now made by DRC—that I encountered in London. The Bonneau du Martray did show some vegetal notes that blemish so many whites and reds in the 2004 vintage. Back in Taipei, there was also a fine bottle of 2016 Meursault Les Perrières from Coche-Dury, though for my palate, it did not quite reach the ethereal heights that these wines can achieve, lacking a bit of aromatic depth.

Time for the main event!

Despite the auspicious occasion, I never pull any punches or genuflect before an illustrious name. This vertical tasting highlighted weaker and stronger vintages, an advantage of tasting a lineup like this. Overall, I guess you could say that the best vintages cluster towards recent years, and that could well be because of reasons already outlined—the conversion to biodynamic viticulture and, in my view, the appointment of the gifted Nicolas Jacob, who incidentally has since departed for the Jura.

I’ll keep the observations brief as tasting notes can be perused at your leisure. It might be controversial to write this, but I don’t feel that the mid-nineties was a golden era for this cuvée. The 1995 Richebourg was a little timeworn and shaded by the superior 1996, while the 1998 Richebourg lacked energy and felt austere on the finish after 26 years, suggesting gradual decline. The dark horse was the 2000 Richebourg, not a revered vintage for Burgundy but a vintage that repays those who had the nous to mature them in bottle. The real surprise was the 2004 Richebourg. No vegetal elements, no leanness. A rare instance of a 2004 Burgundy without those so-called “green meanies,” and it was glorious. The 2007 Richebourg, like a few others recently tasted, was just beginning to run out of puff. Thereafter, the most recent vintages demonstrate more consistency, the 2010, 2014 and 2017 Richebourg armed with greater precision and detail than their older counterparts, a testament to the efforts that have been made, particularly in terms of viticulture. This telegraphs a domaine not content to rest on its laurels (which Aubert de Villaine and his team could easily do) and explains their eminent position in Burgundy.

This was an invaluable overview of DRC’s Richebourg. It was a timely reminder that despite the domaine’s lofty reputation, no bottle is beyond criticism. As I informed our guests, this was an opportunity to really examine a single cuvée, observe how it interacts with the heterogeneity of growing seasons that leads to differing results in bottle. The highlights are magnificent: 1996, 2000, 2004, 2010, 2014 and 2017 are supremely gifted. They translate the nobility of Richebourg whilst upholding the first rule of any wine…be delicious! My gratitude to all those who assembled these wines in Taipei for such a memorable and educational evening.

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