DRC, sotheby's, the best wine
DRC Romanée-Conti wines from the 1990 vintage have been big sellers at auction.
(Image credit: Sotheby's)

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's long-standing winemaker and cellarmaster, Bernard Noblet, is to retire at the end of this month.

Bernard Noblet has been winemaker and cellarmaster at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti since the 1986 vintage, having joined the world-renowned Burgundy wine producer in 1978.

Noblet will retire at the end of this month, confirmed DRC’s exclusive importer in the UK, Corney & Barrow – after the news was first reported in French publication Bourgogne Aujourd’hui

He will be replaced by Alexandre Bernier, who has shadowed Noblet in the past few years.

‘It has been planned these last three or four years, with Alexandre Bernier working very closely alongside Bernard Noblet as part of a seamless evolution,’ said Corney & Barrow in a statement.

Coming up: Look out for our tasting notes on DRC 2015 vintage wines next month – to be published on Decanter Premium

Noblet 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 producer of some of the most in-demand wines around the world.

Bernard Noblet, in particular, has witnessed meteoric rises in the price of DRC wines, alongside a broader expansion of the fine wine market to include collectors all over the globe.

For example, DRC Romanée-Conti 1990 has risen in price by around three thousand percent in the past two decades, according to Liv-ex data.

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Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.