2022 Albert de Conti Cuvee Conti Bergerac Blanc

The de Conti family are originally from Italy – Vincenzo, the family’s great-grandfather, left Italy in the 1920s when the country was suffering a catastrophic famine; both food and work was scarce. He settled in the village of Ribagnac and found work as a crop-sharing tenant farmer belonging to the chateau de Bridoire of Ribagnac. On his death in 1956, his son Primo took over the farm but refused ‘the state of slavery’ he viewed sharecropping to be and chose instead to rent his farm from the chateau. Over the rest of the family’s history in the region, they have grown their business to such an extent that they were eventually able to buy their own land and move away from agriculture and into viticulture instead. The first wines were produced and bottled in 1986.

Descendent of the family, Luc de Conti, led the way in converting the estate to fully organic, and has been certified as such. He wanted to restore the natural balance of the terroir after centuries of over-farming, and instead work with the rhythms of the land to produce wines with more character. The region’s soil is perfect for this style aromatic white, based upon a bedrock of Aquitaine clay-limestone. This soil provides perfect drainage which means the fruit flavours of the grapes are not diluted with too much water, and the limestone adds a generous amount of minerality and complexity to the the finished wines also.

This wine is a blend of 50% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Muscadelle. The grapes are macerated on skins for 48 hours before fermentation in stainless steel which retains freshness, and then the wine is aged on lees for 8 months, which adds rich texture and complexity to the finished wine.

Pale gold in colour, with aromas of acacia, orange flowers and hints of white peach. Rich and rounded on the palate, well-balanced with aromatic complexity and length on the finish. Perfect with seafood, white fish with beurre blanc, or goats' cheese and caramelised red onion tartlets. Or simply enjoy on its own as an apéritif.