Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

One of the great Burgundian Domaines, based in Vosne-Romanée, owned jointly by the de Villaine and Leroy families, producing Grand Cru wines only: Le Montrachet, the monopoles Romanée-Conti and La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-St-Vivant, Échézeaux, and Grands Échézeaux. Its jewel in the crown, La Romanée-Conti, was identified as far back as the early 16th century by the monks of St-Vivant and was later sold as a vineyard called Le Cros de Cloux. By the 17th century it was known as La Romanée and stayed in the same family for four generations until it was sold to the Prince de Conti in 1760. It later became known as La Romanée-Conti but after it had been taken from the Prince during the revolution and sold on in 1794. By 1911 the de Villaine family had become heirs to this great vineyard, after which they name the Domaine. Romanée-Conti was bought by a Julien Ouvard in 1819 and sold by his heirs to Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet 50 years later. Duvault-Blochet's eventual heirs were the de Villaine family. In 1911, Edmond Guidon de Villaine became director of what was now known as the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, a half share was subsequently sold to friend Henri Leroy in 1942, who provided the finance to help further establish the estate as one of Burgundy’s great domaines. His negociant business, Société Leroy, was granted the distribution rights to the wines. In 1975, Henri’s daughter Lalou-Bize Leroy and Henri de Villaine's son, Aubert, were appointed co-directors of this most famous estate, each representing the interests of their respective families. In 1988 Lalou set up her own estate, Domaine Leroy, and in 1993 left Domaine de la Romanée-Conti as co-director.