La Romanée, a grand cru Vineyard in Burgundy's Vosne-Romanée region, is the smallest appellation in France. It covers just 0. 8 hectares (two acres) of land on the hillside immediately above the famed Romanée-Conti vineyard, overlooking the Village of Vosne-Romanée. La Romanée is a monopole of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, which makes a single Pinot Noir from the tiny vineyard.
La Romanée wine can be slightly less refined than that of Romanée-Conti, although has enough Structure, vibrant Acidity and Aromatic red fruit Character to make it one of the best wines from Burgundy.
The vineyard is one of six grand cru sites in Vosne-Romanée, and one of only two where Domaine de la Romanée-Conti does not make wines (the other is the neighboring La Grande Rue site). La Romanée also counts the sizeable Richebourg climat as a neighbor, as well as the premier cru Aux Reignots climat on the hillside above.
La Romanée's position on the midslope of the Côte d'Or gives it a Terroir that is almost perfect for the production of Pinot Noir.
The soil here is made up of pebbly limestone with a moderate proportion of clay – much like the Romanée-Conti vineyard on the slope below.
However, La Romanée is slightly steeper, and the topsoil is slightly thinner. The site is also notable as it is one of the few climats in Vosne-Romanée where the vine rows run along the contour of the hill, rather than up the slope.
While many of the prestigious Vosne-Romanée sites date back to the middle ages and the cultivation of vines by the holy orders, little is known of the origins of the La Romanée until the 17th Century (although its surrounding walls date back to the medieval period).
