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Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: Interpreting the Frost Year by Vineyard
This is a domaine based in Vosne-Romanée, producing wines from grand cru vineyards such as Romanée-Conti and La Tâche. Romanée-Conti, which appears in the producer's name, is both a vineyard and a wine label, but not all wines by this producer are sourced from that specific vineyard.
Compare the 2015 and 2016 vintages of two vineyards and organize the reasons why specifying the vineyard name is necessary to explain the "year of frost."
Questions for this course
Did the 2016 frost have the same impact on all the domaine’s vineyards?
Before you start reading, briefly jot down your thoughts. You will rephrase them at the end.
To applied practice using the material ↓
To explanation task notes ↓Domaine de la Romanée-Conti / Study by producer
France / Burgundy / Vosne-Romanée
Other names & notations: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti / ドメーヌ・ド・ラ・ロマネ・コンティ / Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
Update date: 2026-09-24
Even in the same year, the extent of damage differs.
The 2016 records state that spring frost struck Échezeaux and Grands Échezeaux, while La Tâche largely escaped major damage. Simply writing 'a frost year in Burgundy' overlooks differences between vineyards.
Yield in the two years
Yields for Échezeaux were 25hl/ha in 2015 and 6hl/ha in 2016. For La Tâche, yields were 25hl/ha and 31hl/ha respectively. Even with two vineyards from the same producer, the direction of annual increases or decreases does not always match.
Do not equate production volume with quality
hl/ha is the yield per area. It is not the total number of bottles for the domaine, nor a quality score. Do not automatically equate low yields with high quality; interpret them together with the year's challenges, the materials used, and winemaking records.
What to align and what to compare.
Échezeaux
- Conditions to standardize
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
- Conditions for comparison.
- 2015: 25 → 2016: 6 hl/ha
- Additional points to confirm
- Assessing the influence of the vintage by plot
La Tâche
- Conditions to standardize
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
- Conditions for comparison.
- 2015: 25 → 2016: 31 hl/ha
- Additional points to confirm
- Area increase/decrease differs from other vineyards.
Yield
- Conditions to standardize
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
- Conditions for comparison.
- Wine volume per unit area
- Additional points to confirm
- It's not the quality score or the total number of bottles.
Order of reading and key points to consider in each article
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READ · HYPOTHESIZE · RECONSIDER
Reading Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Materials: Interpreting the Frost Year by Vineyard
Compare the stated conditions in the documentation. Numbers specifying vintages should be treated as information for that specific year.
This summarizes materials published by producers, regional groups, and importers. Each source includes the publisher and the date the material was checked.
| Comparison items | What can be determined from the materials | Ability to distinguish by reading |
|---|---|---|
| Échezeaux | 2015: 25 → 2016: 6 hl/ha | Assessing the influence of the vintage by plot |
| La Tâche | 2015: 25 → 2016: 31 hl/ha | Area increase/decrease differs from other vineyards. |
| Yield | Wine volume per unit area | It's not the quality score or the total number of bottles. |
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Read the explanation for each question
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How would you explain the impact of 2016?
The figures for the two vineyards change in opposite directions. From 2015 to 2016, Échezeaux fell from 25 to 6 hl/ha, while La Tâche increased from 25 to 31 hl/ha. This contrast shows that the year’s assessment for the entire region cannot be uniformly applied to each vineyard.
What does 6hl/ha indicate?
Read producer, vintage, and units together.
What is the producer called Romanée-Conti?
The domaine produces wines from several different vineyards.
Basis and sources for the exercise
Practice exercises in comparison
Please explain differences in raw materials and winemaking by reading the table and sources.
Read examples of organizing comparisons
| Conditions for Comparison | Comparison items | What can be determined from the materials | Ability to distinguish by reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Échezeaux | 2015: 25 → 2016: 6 hl/ha | Assessing the influence of the vintage by plot | |
| La Tâche | 2015: 25 → 2016: 31 hl/ha | Area increase/decrease differs from other vineyards. | |
| Yield | Wine volume per unit area | It's not the quality score or the total number of bottles. |
Sources of materials used for comparison are listed in the text and exercises.
Explain in your own words
Write the reasons why specifying the vineyard name is necessary to explain the year of frost, comparing the 2015 and 2016 vintages of two vineyards.
Check after writing
- Did you specify the label, vintage, and scope of materials to be compared?
- Did you distinguish and explain the three items in the table?
- Did you separate verified facts from points to check further with additional references or tasting?
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