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Château Tour Des Gendres

Château Tour Des Gendres

Vincenzo De Conti came from Italy and settled in the southwest of France with his wife and children in 1925. In 1956, his son, Primo De Conti, took over the family farm with his wife Michelle, who kept horses. The third generation of the De Conti family, Jean, guided by his passion for the land and Luc, guided by his passion for horses, settled in Ribagnac in the early 1980s with their respective wives Carol and Martine.

In 1986, the De Conti brothers began a common project. They joined their families' properties, and created SCEA De Conti, a family agricultural and wine business. Once they had revitalised and improved the Tour Des Gendres vineyards, Jean took on the management of the vineyards and Luc manages winemaking and marketing. Carol handles the accounts and Martine is in charge of the property. A cousin, Francis, joined the operation in 1990, adding 20 hectares of Saint Julien d'Eymet vineyards to those of Gendres and Grand Caillou and assisting with the vineyard management.

"Epicurean by nature, we have learned to organise the conditions for a life of pleasure. Each with his specialty, we strive to work the land and the vines for making wine, we welcome our customers and we manage the domaine. This strategy, this hedonistic arithmetic, gives us the satisfaction of working and living together, and developing our operations while also developing the region. We enjoy the present while preparing for the future ... it is the family instinct." - Luc de Conti

Château Tour Des Gendres' wines are grown on layers of calcareous soil to the south of the Dordogne river. Known since the 12th century as the winery of Château De Bridoire, Château Tour Des Gendres (literally “Tower of the Sons-in-Law”) is located on the site of an old Gallo-Roman villa. Referenced in the 1903 Guide Féret, the estate is named after its then owner Sir Peyronny, the son of the Marquis De Foucault De Lardimalie, Lord of Bridoire. The vines were destroyed by phylloxera in the early 19th century and the current vineyard is only one tenth of its original surface area.

The vineyard is fifty two hectares in size and offers three very different terroirs: Les Gendres, Les Grand Cailloux and St. Julien d’Eymet. At Les Gendres, the soil is very calcareous and gives colourful, full-bodied wines with round and ripe tannins. At Les Grand Cailloux the soil is clayey and calcareous, giving fruitier wines and at Saint Julien d’Eymet, the sandy, clayey-calcareous mixture brings suppleness and fruit. The red grape varieties planted are Merlot (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Cabernet Franc (9%) and Malbec (1%). For the white wines it is 60% Sémillon and 40% Sauvignon Blanc. In some years a little Muscadelle is also used.

The De Contis have 52 hectares of vineyards, all in Bergerac, and all organically farmed since 1994. They have been AGROCERT certified since 2005. Yields are managed based on grape varieties, soil, vintage, the style and balance of the wines and their agricultural plots. Vinification techniques are customised to reflect the true expression of each vintage. Luc is deeply committed to biodynamic farming methods and Château Tour Des Gendres is the flagship of the Bergerac appellation. Luc's wines are among the finest and most exciting wines of Southwest France.

We've been working with Luc De Conti at Château Tour Des Gendres for over 20 years, during which time his wines have gone from excellent to quite sublime. Some people might consider him a touch avant garde as a winemaker, but his attention to detail is second to none and every bottle shows his warm and generous personality.

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