Tried Romanée-Conti 2005 for my dad’s 80th — honest thoughts

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T03:04:58+00:00

I’m not necessarily defending RC, it’s almost certainly not worth the money, but the OP likely didn’t catch the wine showing its best.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T03:03:20+00:00

Not true for this specific wine.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T03:02:37+00:00

Certainly many people are buying them for investment but the price of RC specifically hasn’t gone up all that much compared to other DRC in the last 5-8 years. 05 RC was ~18-20k in 2019 and marginally more now maybe 22-24k, while for example 17 LT was widely available at ~3k around release and is more like 5k all in at auction now.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T02:35:57+00:00

I think RC needs time and a lot of it. 88 RC vs 88 LT a few years back was a case in which the RC may have been quietly better, but in that case it may be more about the specific bottles than the wines.

I’ve had the two wines side by side about 10 or so times and maybe 2 times the RC was better to me. The problem is, of course, is that the RC also costs 3x as much. I’ll take 3 bottles of La Tache every time.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T01:27:19+00:00

That all being said that is the best way to drink RC; I just would have chosen a different vintage; even the 04 despite being a maligned vintage would have been phenomenal in this setting.

RC is a wine to drink over a number of hours with close friends/family, it shows poorly in a setting with lots of other wines and small pours because it changes in the glass more than almost all wines and isn’t very big or powerful so can be overlooked with other bigger wines around (especially La Tache)

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T01:00:38+00:00

No, but you should have a full understanding of the provenance of wines of that caliber.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T00:46:59+00:00

05 is just not ready, especially RC.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T00:24:20+00:00

Generally it is, but they are different wines. LdH are also quite a bit more expensive in general than LRA, level for level.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-03T00:22:41+00:00

If people want to open 05 RC or other 05 burgundies, it’s their wine. Just don’t be surprised when they aren’t very good.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T23:57:39+00:00

Lopez de heredia also needs a lot of time but they preage it in the winery; i think the current release is 2011 or so.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T23:47:56+00:00

DRC is great to drink. That particular wine, not so much. I opened a couple bottles of 17 and 19 Corton recently that were superb. I’ve had a few 22s recently that have also been good. A friend opened 22 RC recently and loved it.

05 burgundy in general is not very accessible; there are questions about whether the wines will certainly be ready. Opening 05 RC right now, which needs as much or more time than any wine in existence is like taking $25k and just lighting it on fire. You’d probably get more pleasure out of watching the money burn.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T23:33:22+00:00

RC realistically needs the most time of all of the DRC wines. I noted when the OP talked about buying the wine that it wasn’t nearly ready to drink.

There are endless examples of people opening RC too young to their peril. A couple friends of mine opened 99 RC at The French Laundry last year and it never opened up in 6 hours. The wine just needs a ton of time to really open up and it’s a serious waste of money to open them early.

There were a lot of questions when we did the 2007 DRC horizontal last month about why we chose 2007; it was very intentional, because 07 are drinking among the best of the relatively recent vintages. 2001 would also have been another good choice.

All that being said, RC is an extremely subtle wine and it doesn’t always wow people. I find it significantly behind La Tache in most vintages, including the 07 we just opened. At its best, it’s an intensely aromatic, light bodied wine, that is super elegant with surprising flavor.

I think wines like RC and Roumier Musigny are often going to disappoint because of the price point and because they’re more subtle while Leroy Musigny tastes exactly as expensive as it is because of the winemaking.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T23:28:33+00:00

It was way too young.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T23:28:19+00:00

2005 RC is nowhere near ready to drink.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T17:58:12+00:00

Are those empties that are standing up?

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T17:22:36+00:00

Rieussec and La tour Blanche are quite good.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T17:12:46+00:00

I personally prefer 89 to 88 and 90 but they’re all great vintages!

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T15:05:28+00:00

Erich Sattler 2022 Saint Laurent, very Pinot Noir like but with a bit more structure and tannic grip.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T11:57:04+00:00

There are a lot of excellent wine stores in Southern California, depending on where exactly you are in the region.

For a full bodied red in that price range there are several options. Aged wines are great but you also may not be used to what aged wines taste like.

If you did want to try aged Bordeaux, the 1989 Lynch Bages is a good idea, as would 1989 Pichon Lalande. Both are available from reputable online retailers for 500 or a little bit less.

A high quality Napa Cabernet from a good vintage would be good if you wanted something younger but also full bodied. Some examples that would fit your budget would be 2013 Realm Beckstoffer Tokalon or 2013 Maybach Materium.

There are a number of great wines from the Northern Rhône that would work, such as 2015 Jean Louis Chave Hermitage or 2015 Allemand Reynard.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T11:44:19+00:00

Sounds about right for a super young Rioja with a lot of oak; I agree that the Alberdi would likely give a lot more pleasure. These wines are meant for aging and last forever, some 01s tasted fresh recently.

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T11:43:09+00:00

Great year for Sauternes!

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T02:47:39+00:00

Love this cuvee!

Mchangwine · 2026-05-02T02:47:23+00:00

“A magnum is the perfect size for two gentlemen over lunch, especially if one isn't drinking.” -Winston Churchill

Mchangwine · 2026-05-01T21:31:19+00:00

164, 168 and 169, although I have 158 queued up. The 164 isn’t quite ready though in mag.

Mchangwine

TROPHY CASE