Mario Testino, SIR

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It is the most prestigious appellation in the world – yet the iconic Romanée-Conti is the fruit of a vineyard that is small in size, but big in history. This is precisely what Laurens Delpech reveals in this book – the short story of the Prince of Romanée-Conti, the man who turned this modest vineyard into a grand cru, like a work of gustatory art!

Author: Laurens Delpech

Publishing House: Flammarion

Publication Date: October 2020

Description :Cousin of the King of France Louis XV, Prince Louis-François de Bourbon-Conti was a patron of the intellectuals of his time such as Diderot, Beaumarchais and Rousseau and a very famous collector of works of art. His stroke of genius was the purchase of the vineyard of the Romanée which was to be called Romanée-Conti. This book reveals the secrets of this mythical wine, object of a real cult by amateurs around the world. After a biography dedicated to the prince of Conti, it allows us, through recent tastings, to define the characteristics of this unique wine that must be placed within the Climates of Burgundy. These climates are terroirs where Burgundian grape varieties are optimally acclimatized. These long-recognized terroirs have enjoyed a unique historical continuity and were inscribed on the World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2015. To understand Burgundy, it is necessary to know its climates but also to be aware of the climate, that is to say the meteorological conditions of each vintage, because the fact of producing great wines, to the northern limit of maturity of the type of vines used, is sometimes like an obstacle course where nature tries to play tricks on the winemaker. This is why Laurens Delpech reproduces large extracts from the harvest reports published since 1996 by Aubert de Villaine, who runs the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. This saga of successive vintages reminds us of the difficulty of winemaking. This original, very complete book, which highlights the duality of climates and climate that makes the greatest wines of Burgundy, is written with an alert pen. It is an excellent synthesis of the Romanée-Conti which will also be very useful to those who wish, quite simply, to refine their knowledge and appreciation of Burgundy wines.