Baghera/wines:  Tell us about the plot of La Romanée...

Philippe Prost, Ambassador, Bouchard Père & Fils : To be able to talk about this plot, you have to have been there, you really have to have seen it. It’s truly something remarkable, completely different from Romanée-Conti. We are above la Romanée-Conti on a very interesting south-north orientation. There is a certain gradient, 10 to 12%. We are at the foot of the Vosne-Romanée les Reignots and the very fact of having invested this orientation, a rein against erosion, allows us to preserve the soil. The originality of the soil lies in a small limestone pebble which comes down from the Reignots and has settled there, and this forms a deeper, more temperate soil. In my opinion, this is a truly wonderful orientation, which can also be found on the Côte de Beaune and on some of the grands crus of the Côte de Nuits. It is also a way of protecting the fruit under the leaves at the hottest moments of the day. You know what we are going through today with climate change, well in the nineteenth century also, there were years with extreme heat and drought, such as 1865. So, protecting the fruit under the foliage is a way to avoid the plant experiencing water stress.

This plot has lived through different eras with different share-cropping domains in charge of its cultivation. When you are a sharecropper, you vinify the fruit of the work of a whole year, it’s a way of understanding what happens throughout the year! That’s what it means to listen to the plants. I think that being a sharecropper and taking charge of the vinification is a powerful symbol. The fact that a sharecropper does take charge of the vinification is truly the continuity of the whole year’s work. We have a treasure: it’s the terroir. Here we’re talking about an appellation — La Romanée — where the terroir is so expressive. There is a transferral in which we all have a common role to play: that of passing on the “ message of the terroir ”. That above all else.

To know the vintages, to know the plant, it’s a wonderful thing because it allows you to respond to them in a way which is completely in tune with what is happening. Working to fine-tune the “ vintage character ” a little, but also trying to develop the unique message of the terroir: that’s something tremendous. You have to understand the notion of Grand Cru: there is an entity that comes from the soil, a signature note, a message that is so strong that the influence of the vintage can be crushed. Each time there are the same signature notes, the same messages and the same aromatic reminder: it is the signature of the terroir, it is something unique. It is essential to avoid any crushing of these signature notes, by a winemaker’s ego, and to respect the balance. You always have to work on balance and texture, that’s important.

The gourmet dinner & tasting, under the guidance of Mr. Francesco Lee (Baghera/wines, Director Asia), will be composed of  a 10 vintages vertical of the illustrious "La Romanée" (from 1998 to 1906), commented by Philippe Prost, ambassador for Bouchard Père & Fils.

To mark the occasion, a stared Michelin's menu paired with the tasting notes of the vintages will be concocted by Chef Nicolas Boutin (Epure) and his team. 

Nestled in the heart of the Vosne-Romanée vineyard between Romanée-Conti, Richebourg and La Tâche, throughout recent memory La Romanée has been one of the brightest jewels in Burgundy’s wine landscape. Its name alone evokes its mastery of space and time, rising to a place of distinction in a time-honoured craft that remains one of the most authentic on Earth. For decades, La Romanée’s vintages have blossomed, all the while respecting the vineyard’s background and the Grand Cru rank it has held since its creation.

As such, we are honoured to have been entrusted with the last 1,926 bottles of Maison Bouchard Père & Fils, dating from 1862 to 2005. There are 33 vintages that have never left this historic cellar. These bottles are more than just an extraordinary tribute to an exceptional plot of land. They represent almost 150 years of the history of La Romanée, the smallest of the “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée”.

This catalogue explores a slice of this history, taking us on a journey through time and memory meant to be transcribed, preserved and shared. The Maison Bouchard’s impressive archives are our eyes into this part of Burgundy’s wine tradition, which its majestic cellar holding the wines gives us a chance to experience first-hand. These magnificent bottles from 1862 carry particular emotional weight as a piece of wine history.