Icelandic pharma-titan, Robert Wessman of Maison Wessman in Bergerac and his wine director, Lise Sadirac, have been fighting for a new Issigeac micro-appellation with backing from musician Norah Jones. Lisse Garnett visits the region to find out what the future holds.
Prestigious winery Maison Wessman is currently seeking vinous validation for Issigeac and Conne-de-Labarde, which lie on a clearly defined limestone plateau in the Bergerac region in southwestern France.
According to vineyard director Lise Sadirac, who believes the sub-regions merit their own micro-appellation status, the unique geography of the area deserves to be recognised by the National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO). The layered limestone plateau of d’ Issigeac took 1.5 million years to form. Vines take a decade to root in the fissured rock where soil is a mere 20cm deep.
Conne-de-Labarde is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France, approximately 10 km southeast of the town of Bergerac. Issigeac is also known for its proximity to Bergerac. While Issigeac itself doesn’t have its own distinct appellation, the surrounding area, known as Bergerac, produces a variety of red and white wines.
The problem for the region over the years seems to be that while Bergerac has 13 appellations, it has no distinct identity. Bergerac is the capital of the verdant Rubenesque Dordogne, yet has suffered over the centuries for its Bordeaux satellite status.
Believing that fine wine in the region would benefit from a perceptible point of difference and a dose of celebrity stardust, famed chanteuse Norah Jones has been brought on board to help lift Wessman and the sub-regions’ profiles.
Announced in July, the partnership will see the release of new wines under the Norah Jones This Life label. Jones now has a share in the business (size undisclosed) and celebrated the collaboration with an intimate concert at the winery last month. A sparkling and a rosé have been released thus far. A white and red are also in the pipeline and are currently awaiting assemblage by Jones. Her involvement, love of rosé and intense attention to aromatic notes was vigorously confirmed by Sadirac. Wessman has plans to bring further celebrities onboard having already collaborated with Icelandic rockstars Kaleo.
“Sometimes you get tapped on the shoulder to do something interesting. Wine is whole new world for me, and it’s really fun to do something different,” Jones said.
“My wife and I contacted Norah through a friend, we sent her some samples which I chose myself and she really liked and after that it was fairly straightforward,” Robert Wessman explained.
“She is very much involved. We have been working together now for a year, she has visited Iceland on tour and we are also developing a friendship which makes it easy. There are hundreds and thousands of good wines, and they don’t get any attention. Norah is opening doors for us everywhere, especially in America.”
Ethical, youthful and music-obsessed, Robert Wessman is a self-made pharmaceutical king who specialises in producing lower-priced accessible medicines and fine wine. He started in sales before building a billion-dollar ethical business from a near derelict pharmaceutical company. A decisive turn to drink came in 2001 when he purchased the Vignoble des Verdots winery and acquired the nearby majestic Château de Saint-Cernin to house his family a decade before.
Proudly independent, yet 100km east of Bordeaux and inland on the Dordogne River, Bergerac was historically beholden to Bordeaux’s once punitive river rules and market access rights. A Huguenot stronghold when Bordeaux was staunchly Catholic, Bergerac’s wine production was heavily penalised for its use of Bordeaux varieties and lower caste status. Today, Bergerac is allied with the Southwest rather than Bordeaux, and Côtes du Gascogne, Jurançon and Madiran are regional bedfellows.
Continental in climate, red grapes ripen later in Bergerac than in Bordeaux, hence the popularity of Merlot which ripens a good two weeks earlier than Cabernet. Maison Wessman has slightly more red than white with 19ha of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle. It also has 26ha allocated to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Bergerac’s native variety, Mérille. The old vine Cabernet Franc is fresh, balanced and particularly notable – a perfect partner for the velvety Merlot.
At the recent event held in the region, Sadirac, who was born in Bergerac and favours organic viticulture, presented a magnificent Cabernet Merlot blend, Saint-Cernin No 1, and a gorgeous white blend, Château Les Tours des Verdots Blanc, made with little intervention. In particular, Sadirac highlights the region’s ageing potential. Her playful Robert Wessman, Imprévu Blanc de Noir (100% Merlot) is refreshingly whimsical and delicious. Every Imprévu label is unique thanks to AI.
Lise is supported by expert consultants, Michel Rolland and Andreas Larsson. But like Bergerac itself, she maintains the kind of fierce independence required of a French woman in the vineyard. She is as charming and likeable as her wines and a proud member of the Vinifilles subgroup, Southwest Femme du Vin, the networking sorority that promotes female solidarity in wine.
“We all love men, but we women of the soil share ideas, taste together and we have each other’s backs. It’s a safe space,” Sadirac said.
A symbiotic match, Sadirac loves working for Wessman who is appreciative of creative freedom being a maverick thinker himself.
Elsewhere, things are looking up for the two micro-appellations. For example, the INAO has already inspected Issigeac twice, so a more official status for the vines could be on the cards in the near future. Sadirac estimates that the earliest possible date for recognition is 2027.
