Corcova “gout du terroir” with the perfume of history

Once upon a time there was a land filled with wondrous vineyards, but over which fell the mist of desolation… and yet, one long lost tale conquered over time, brought to life and valued again: Corcova, that “gout du terroir” with the perfume of history and culture brought into the present.

Corcova, the estate of Bibescu family, saw it’s time of glory at the end of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was the favourite place of vacation for prince Anton Bibescu and Martha Bibescu, as well as for some of their famous friends, Marcel proust, Ion Minulescu, Ion Pillat and many other personalities of the romanian culture and politics of the times.

Wineries built by prince Anton Bibescu have been restored completely by Serban Damboviceanu and Michel Roy, today the Corcova Roy and Damboviceanu winery.

The investment at Corcova started in 2005 because of our passion for wine and the belief that Romania is a land with great potential that is still unknown. The restoration of the winery was a complex building site which lasted more than three years. We tried to keep the original architecture intact in order to highlight its value. The most difficult part of the restoration was that of the concrete tanks, built by prince Anton Bibescu. I aimed to use them, not just because of the trend of concrete tanks, but also because I was convinced of their benefits in the winemaking process. Serban Damboviceanu

If Serban Damboviceanu followed the footsteps of Anton Bibescu when he rediscovered Corcova and brought it back to life, in the same manner, Laurent Pfeffer followed the footsteps of Aristoteles Sauget - the oenologist invited by prince Anton Bibescu to take care of the vineyard at Corcova - when he decided to make wine in Romania, being only 27 years old.

Born at Versailles without any connection to winemaking or wine, I spent all my holidays on a farm near Poitiers.This is why I wanted to work in agriculture since I was a child, and after two years at the univeristy of biology, I got into an agricultural engineering school in Bordeaux Sciences Agro, then into the faculty of Oenology in Bordeaux. I chose winemaking as a specialisation because wine is a noble, complex product, made only for the pleasure of consumers, with an extraordinary diversity (varieties, soils, regions, people and techniques) and where you start off from a raw product (grapes) and arrive at a well defined one (wine). Laurent Pffefer, oenologist at Corcova Roy & Damboviceanu and owner and oenologist at Catleya winery.

This year, at the masterclass dedicated to the vineyards of Romania, you will have the chance to listen to the entire story of the only restored winery of the Mehedinti region and you will be able to taste the wines produced here at Corcova and Catleya, presented by Serban Damboviceanu and Laurent Pfeffer.