Why Is Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) So Expensive?

Jun 3, 2025by David Bachus

If you’ve ever looked at a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and wondered why it costs more than a Rolex, you’re not alone. DRC is considered the crown jewel of Burgundy and arguably the most sought-after wine estate in the world.

But this isn’t just hype.

The high price tag is the result of a rare mix of microscopic production, historic terroir, traditional winemaking, tightly controlled distribution, and explosive global demand. Here's why DRC wines command such reverence and cost.

1. Tiny Production, Outsized Reputation

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti owns just 28 hectares (69 acres) of Grand Cru vineyards across Burgundy’s most legendary sites - including Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and Montrachet.

By comparison, Bordeaux First Growths like Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild produce 180,000 to 300,000 bottles per year. Burgundy is boutique by design, and DRC sits at the top of that pyramid.

2. No En Primeur, No Early Discounts

Unlike Bordeaux, DRC does not participate in en primeur sales. There’s no buying futures or tasting unfinished barrel samples. The domaine bottles only when the wine is deemed ready, and releases it on their terms.

3. Biodynamic Farming and Low-Intervention Winemaking

DRC’s vineyard practices are old-school by design: biodynamic farming, no synthetic chemicals, and painstaking manual labor from vine to barrel.

The average vine is over 40 years old, and any replanting is done using heritage cuttings from the domaine’s own vineyards - primarily Romanée-Conti and La Tâche. This preserves genetic integrity and ensures consistency of style.

Harvest involves over 100 trained pickers working by hand, followed by strict sorting. Fermentations use native yeasts, often with whole-cluster inclusion, in small vats. After fermentation, the wine is gravity-fed into 100% new French oak barrels (mostly François Frères and Taransaud), where it undergoes aging for 15 to 18 months before bottling.

The result is wine with transparency, texture, and tension - true to place, not to recipe.

4. Allocations Are Tight and Mostly Go to Restaurants

In the U.S., DRC is imported by Wilson Daniels, who manages one of the most tightly controlled allocations in the industry. The vast majority of bottles go to top restaurants, not retail shelves.

Even seasoned collectors often receive just one bottle per year - if they’re lucky. Once a bottle hits the secondary market, pricing often multiplies overnight.

5. DRC Is Both Status Symbol and Investment-Grade Asset

DRC wines are more than just drinkable luxury - they are cultural symbols and financial instruments. For collectors, owning a bottle is like holding fine art. For investors, it’s blue-chip Burgundy.

Auction records prove the point: a 1945 Romanée-Conti sold for $558,000 at Sotheby’s in 2018. Properly stored bottles often appreciate significantly over time, making them both sensual and strategic assets.

Why Is DRC So Expensive?

Drinking the wines is an ethereal experience, with their wonderful expressions of sense of place. While the price on the wines has continued to rise over the years, it is hard to argue that they’re not the pinnacle of Burgundy. 

  • Production is minuscule relative to demand

  • Vineyards are small and yields are low by nature

  • No en primeur sales - only finished wines are released

  • Allocations are tightly controlled, with most going to restaurants

  • Demand from collectors and sommeliers is global and relentless

  • The wines offer both cultural cachet and long-term investment value

A Quick Guide to DRC’s Cuvées

While all of DRC’s wines are rare and revered, each Grand Cru has its own personality:

Romanée-Conti
The flagship. A 4.5-acre monopole producing ~5,000–6,000 bottles/year. Dense, sensual, impossibly long-lived.

La Tâche
The largest holding (~15 acres), also a monopole. ~20,000 bottles/year. Exotic spice, florals, and early accessibility.

Richebourg
~3.5 hectares, ~12,000 bottles/year. Bold, structured, and built to age. Often the most powerful DRC wine.

Romanée-St-Vivant
~5.3 hectares, ~18,000 bottles/year. Floral, elegant, and weightless—considered the most ethereal of the lineup.

Grands Échézeaux
~3.5 hectares, ~14,000 bottles/year. Broader and darker, with earth, structure, and aging depth.

Échézeaux
~4.7 hectares, ~16,000 bottles/year. Lighter, with gamey, brambly red fruit and a wilder edge.

Corton
A leased vineyard since 2009 (~2.3 hectares). ~6,500 bottles/year. Deep, structured, and still finding its voice.

Montrachet
Just 0.68 hectares. ~3,000 bottles/year. One of the rarest and most powerful white Burgundies ever made.

Corton Charlemagne
The most recent addition to the DRC lineup, making its debut in 2019. The vines on this 2.9-hecrare plot are leased from Bonneau du Martray. A fresher and chiseled expression of white Burgundy.

Legendary Bottles, Trusted Provenance

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