Chateau Fortia, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Solid bottle of lesser aged CDP. Fairly brick-colored. The nose is forest floor and tobacco. Medium weight, the fruit is very tertiary. This is very mature, but not over the hill. Nice wine some 20 years later. (still has the sticker from Sam's on it!)

2000 vintage

Records not handy. A 750 ml bottle from a mixed lot of magnums, bottles, and half bottles of this wine from a commercial auction 20+ years ago--likely Michael Davis or Chicago Wine. I expect that the average price of the 750 ml equivalent in the lot was under 20/b after all taxes and fees; still have a few more of the b and hb left. Decanted with normal sediment for its age. Purple with an amber edge; fragrant mature red …

1995 vintage

Over the hill. Starts with a blast of monolothic, but sweet, plummy fruit. Not so bad, but fell apart after about 20 minutes.

2000 vintage

A bit better than my last bottle; more fresh and lively. Medium red, with a bit of garnet on the rim. This bottle was in a great drinking window, with mature, drying fruits, but backed by lift and a enigmatic sense of freshness. Notes of plums, grilled herbs and smokey fire pit embers. Lovely, complex and and fully resolved tannins that melt in your mouth.

1995 vintage

Pristine bottle. A lovely, well aged, mature CdP. Ruby red with a slight garnet rim. This still has the black fruit, meat, tar, herb and pepper notes it had in its youth, but the structure is softer and perhaps a bit too tame? The mid-palate is good but definitely losing flesh. Lovely wine, but I'm thinking I might have a slight preference for this wine in its burly young stage. Still, I wish I bought more at my price of …

1995 vintage

Cellared since release. Not being a fan of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, I was pleasantly surprised by this bottle. Dark fruits with some complexity, medium-weight body, no feeling of excess alcohol (stated alcohol was 14%). Fully mature, but I don't think there is any rush to drink this.

2000 vintage

Brisket Bash Deux: 10 Vintage Vertical of Clos de Papes and more (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN) : Dark red color. PNP, small pour from magnum. Just wanted to get a taste of this. I like this producer, a bit rustic, lots of garrigue and dried herbs, dark red fruit, cherry, medium body, a bit rustic, lots of earth and some funk to boot. 90+pts.

1995 vintage

Not decanted. Second time I have had this. This bottle was showing better than the one I had back in 2007. Solid red color. Some matchstick aromas on the nose. Notes of currants, smokey oak and wet earth. Really made in an traditional style. Not an overly fruity wine but holding up very well. 89-90 points

2000 vintage

A bunch of CdP on a Saturday Afternoon (Loretta Paganini School fo Cooking) : I saw this on the table and had my doubts about it. Way above my expectations. This bottle was drinking very well. The nose has dark cherries, tobacco, and spice. Drinking a bit younger on the palate, plenty of fruit. Layers of complexity. Lovely juicy texture. No hint of being past prime or funk. Medium to full bodied. I preferred this to the 07 drinking them …

2000 vintage

Typical Châteauneuf; well kept after 13 years

2000 vintage

Excellent example of the good old Châteauneuf du Pape style, with its body and coimplexity

2000 vintage

Southern Rhone Tasting (San Jose, CA) : Brown edges, generous earthy nose with hints of burnt sugar. Barnyard palate. Medium finish. (RANK: #4/10)

2000 vintage

charred black cherries

2000 vintage

Another great outstanding aged CdP that continues to deliver.

2000 vintage

I wasn't as impressed with this bottle as I was with the previous few ones, but this travelled with me from coast to coast trip before we drank it so I suspect that it probably was still under a bottle shock... still a very good wine though.

2000 vintage

Another great showing for this outstanding aged CdP.

2000 vintage

Didn't perform as well as the previous bottles... This one didn't age very well.

2000 vintage

Good stuff. This needs 30 minutes. Black raspberry, anise, dried herbs. yum.

2000 vintage

A nice example of an affordable CdP that turned into an amazing drinking experience 10 years later. Drinking very well right now!

2000 vintage

This is my second bottle of this wine this month and both of them delivered and outstanding classic aged CdP drinking experience. The wine is a little bit rough upon opening, but softens up after a little bit. Drank over 3 days with a fairly consistent performance.

2000 vintage

WineBank 10th Anniversary Party (WineBank, Menlo Park, California) : Needs food upon opening to balance out the stong earty taste.

2000 vintage

WineBank 10th Anniversary Tasting Party (WineBank, Menlo Park, California) : Bricked medium red color; cigar box, tobacco, chocolate nose; tasty, cigar box, chocolate palate; medium-plus finish

2000 vintage

This is hittin' it. You are eating a slightly burnt toast slathered in macerated black cherries, with a generous sprinkling of dried herbs, but you were so excited you tripped on a root and fell and got a bite of damp dark earth and peat moss and one of those little tan mushrooms in your mouth, but it's all good...

2000 vintage

Drank over a few hours from decanter. Wonderful aromatics and soft tannins. Minerality and earthy components really started to come out after a few hours. Very impressive

1995 vintage

Delicious - drinking (probably) at peak right now. Packed with juicy raspberry Grenache fruit, and garrique aromas. Should have loaded up on a couple of cases when this was getting closed out locally for $20/btl last year.

2000 vintage

Nose of damp earth. Mature berry and mild spice for nice smooth taste.

2000 vintage

Magnum. The cork seemed loose so I was initially worried about the wine. Overall a nice elegant CdP with enticing floral notes. Tannins seem fully resolved so if I had more of this, I be tempted to drink them sooner than later.

1995 vintage

Corked. Nice under.

1995 vintage

Another nice bottle. Nose of mineral and damp earth. Good weight in mouth...sour cherries. This one didn't need any time, just opened bottel and poured.

2000 vintage

Got this wine at a bargain bin price. One bottle was corked, but 2 so far have been very good. Medium garnet color with soft red-brown edge. Nose is sweet, pleasant and powerful. Tobacco and some cat's piss. Taste is dry with lively acidity, a bit tight however. Sour cherries, not much else. Not a complex wine, but very enjoyable, especially after some aeration. Don't see much improvement in it's future so will drink now and over the next 1-2 …

2000 vintage

Just OK. Not much nose to speak of. The palate reminded me of a Aglianico.

2000 vintage

Strong wood ans smoke flavors. Quite rustic. Enjoyable on its own, but it quite overwhelmed our food.

2000 vintage

Nice bottle, ready to drink now , but can hold out another at least 5 year. Colour a litlle light, it took abaout 2 hours in decanter to open up. not the big complexity and not a huge wine, still have a little under current of acid.

1995 vintage

Decanted ~2 hours. Color a mmedium garnet-ruby with some brown. Pleasant, monolithic nose of tea and earth with bit of red fruit. Quite mature on the palate, more like an old Bordeaux (lacking the complexity) than a CdP. Pleasant, moderate finish. Not a poor wine by any means but lacking the depth, complexity and rusticity that I look for in a CdP from a good year.

1995 vintage

Dark red. Plum, cherry, blackberry, and leather on the nose. Well structured with medium body. Nice finish. 50 + 5 + 11 + 16 + 8

1995 vintage

A fairly tame nose. Good earthy-ness and fruit with some chocolate notes. Little meat or blood or garrigue but clearly CndP. Probably at or near peak

1995 vintage

Dinner at Provence with Steve & Barb. Dark ruby in the glass and drinking pretty well for a '95. Medium bodied with pepper and earthy notes along with some gritty tannins. Medium length finish. A good rendition of a tradionally styled CDP. May be drinking at peak now, or at least it doesn't seem like it is meant for the long haul. 50+12+12+8+8 = 90

1995 vintage

Gambero Rosso + Otto + Ashers place... WOW! : pine, forest on the nose, great body - fully integrated, excellent balance, lovely fruit with beautifull acidity. drink now and enjoy (out of a mag with a few hours open) lets hope '03 can be anything like this one day!

1995 vintage

At a horizontal tasting of 11 1995 Chateauneuf (not blind). Average wine, slightly sour finish, no group votes. More ready to drink than the others, drink now to 2008.

1995 vintage

Excellent bottle. Very structured with mostly secondary aromas. This is at its plateau.

1995 vintage

As soon as the cork was pulled I was overwhelmed by the essence of crushed black berries. With air some dried herbs showed through. The palate followed the nose closely. After about 10 minutes of air the black cherry subsided. After another 40 minutes, however, it came screaming back, but this time it was even sweeter. Surprisingly for a 95, the tannins were nearly fully integrated. For those that don't like the sweaty elements of CdP this is a wine …

1995 vintage

A very soft and open wine, sort of surprising for a '95 at this point. Lots of garrigue and sour cherry flavors. Medium length finish with a touch of mint. Very good with rack of lamb but this doesn't seem like a long ager.

1995 vintage

Lovely nose of red and black fruits and ?violets. Very ripe "sweet" mainly black fruits but no overripeness, mourvedre adding complexity (they say only 5%, would have guessed more, with 70% syrah, 24% grenache, 1% counoise). Pretty clean--well, you can't have everything. Tannins largely resolved, best bottle I've had so far, but should hold another couple of years or so. Very good match with simple rotisserie chicken and baked potato with porcini oil.

1995 vintage

drinking beautifully. Tannins mostly resolved. Cigar box and game.

1995 vintage

Dark red/purple color. Very showy nose of ripe roasted black fruits, coffee, and woodsmoke. Classic, ripe, CDP. Although very ripe, I did not sense any over-ripe or stewed tastes. Some roasted game notes add complexity. Very nice, and very good QPR.

1995 vintage

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Chateau Fortia, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

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