DRC winemaker Bernard Noblet retires
Domaine de la Romanée- Conti’s longstanding winemaker, Bernard Noblet, has retired. He joined the world-renowned Burgundy producer in 1978 and has been winemaker and cellarmaster at the estate since the 1986 vintage.
Corney & Barrow, DRC’s exclusive UK importer, confirmed his official retirement at the end of January. He will be replaced by Alexandre Bernier, who has been shadowing Noblet in preparation.
‘ It has been planned these last three or four years, with Alexandre working very closely alongside Bernard as part of a seamless evolution,’ commented Corney & Barrow in a statement.
Bernard took over from his father, André Noblet, who had been head winemaker at DRC since 1946. Together, they have overseen the rise of DRC, as it has become a producer of some of the world’s most in-demand wines.
Bernard, in particular, has witnessed a meteoric rise in the prices of DRC wines; alongside a broader expansion of the fine wine market to include collectors from all over the globe.
For example, Domaine de la RomanéeConti 1990 has risen in price by around 3,000% in the past two decades, according to Liv-ex data.