Cuvée des Contis is the house speciality; slightly botrytised Semillon (50%) with Sauvignon (40%) and Muscadelle. The nose is quite complex, the attack is both rounded and vividly fresh - melon, white peach, apricot, rose petals and hints of ginger and fennel, fresh, mineral ending.
"A blend of Semillon with Sauvignon and Muscadelle, this is a delicious mix of fine citrus acidity and smoothly textured yellow fruits, with hints of honey and grilled nuts. You could try this with salmon or another full-flavoured fish." John Wilson, IRISH TIMES BOTTLE OF THE WEEK
ALBERT DE CONTI, Saint-Julien d'Eymet
Certified Organic by Escort
It all began back in 1963, when Albert de Conti, whose parents emigrated from Italy in the 1920’s, bought some land with his wife Odette in the little village of St Julien d’Eymet, 20km south of Bergerac. He planted several hectares of vines, cereals and also had some cattle (polyculture was widespread in the region at the time).
In 1990, their son Francis took over and decided to merge his vineyard with that of his cousin Luc and became his partner in Château Tour des Gendres in Ribagnac. His son Guillaume joined him in 2011, followed by his second son Paulin 2013 and in 2017, Yann Lecoindre as cellarmaster.
Five years on and this trio of ‘youngsters’ have decided to breathe new life into Primode Contis home village of St Julien d’Eymet. They’ve taken over Francis’ vineyard and created Domaine Albert de Conti.
The terroir of this 30 hectare vineyard is made up of limestone-clayey and silty clayey soils. The oldest vines were planted by Albert in 1966, and the eponymous parcel (la Vigne d’Albert) is an original combination of a multitude of native grape varieties.The vines have been farmed organically for many years now and the team hope to go even further by using certain biodynamic and agroforestry methods, in order to restore and strengthen the natural balance of the land