Chateau Tour des Gendres

Luc de Conti is the third generation of an Italian family that settled just south of Bergerac in southwest France in 1925 and set up an agricultural business. Luc inherited some old vines and planted more parcels in the ’80s and ’90s, while his wife Martine took control of the rest of the business. Luc and Martine were joined in 1990 by Luc’s cousin, Francis,  who brought with him 20 hectares of vines planted in the Saint Julien d’Eymet and Grand Caillou areas, and took charge of the vines. The wine, a red called Chateau Tour des Gendres Rouge, was made in 1986, followed by a white next vintage. In 1994 the family trialled organic farming on the parcel called “Les Gendres” and by 2005 had converted their entire farm to organic viticulture. They continued to experiment and innovate with single plot farming for each of the grape varieties, experimenting with zero-sulphur winemaking and transitioning away from new oak to using foudres and even amphorae.