Conti ‘Tours des Gendres’

Conti ‘Tours des Gendres’ – the ultimate palette-cleanser. Albert de Conti’s bubbling blend of Sauvignon and Chenin awakens even the most dormant of jaw muscles. This terrace-tippler, sunshine-soaker, mood-maker is an elegant Friday night acquaintance, never failing to ignite one’s weekend. This ancestral method beauty has made all of us giggle a little too heartily and so, we wish to bestow that pleasure unto ye fine Fifi followers. Initially ensnaring one’s nostrils with ripe, fleshy orchard fruits, the tongue is then tantalised by a searing yet balanced acidity. Refreshment comes in spades as waves of lime zest, lemon peel and touches of bruised apple roll over one another. Whetted and wistful, one is consequently struck by a delicate salinity and the process repeats itself a tad too easily.

Albert de Conti, a first-generation Frenchman whose parents emigrated from Italy in the 1920s, purchased a plot in 1963. With his wife Odette, they planted several hectares of vines and cereal in the wee hamlet of Saint-Julien d’Eytems. Viticulture began to trickle down through the generations when their son Francis took charge in 1990, merging the vineyard with that of his cousin Luc. Re-establishing in Ribagnac under the moniker Chateau Tour des Gendres, familial passion continued to grow. Francis’ sons Guillaume and Paulin, alongside cellar-master Yann Lecoindre, took a youthful grasp of the reigns in 2019 and so, Domaine Albert de Conti was born. They farm the vines organically and certain biodynamics and agroforestry methods are restoring natural balance to their 30h of soils. Incredibly, the oldest of these vines were planted by Albert himself in 1966, yielding numerous native varities.

Conti ‘Tours des Gendres’ – a sumptuous and succulent reminder that sometimes the sun smiles for us here. Undoubtedly, this exuberant expression of Chenin and Sauvignon will serve to invite chatter and cuddles.