Château Fortia

Except for the wines of Henri Bonneau, this was the only '96 I tasted in December that had not been bottled. Bruno Le Roy is in no hurry to bottle and market his wine, choosing instead to wait until the tannins have rounded out. Working with crack enologist Jean-Luc Colombo, Le Roy has completely destemmed his fruit since 1994, and carries out a relatively long cuvaison lasting 25 days. He will bottle the '96 in January and then hold it back for an additional year before releasing it. Chateau Fortia Chateauneuf normally undergoes its malolactic fermentation in foudres then gets a further 12 to 18 months of aging before being moved into cuves where it rests until the bottling; no barriques are used. Interestingly, Le Roy describes '96 as a more feminine style of Chateauneuf. The '97, which features 20% syrah and 5% mourvedre, is a perfumed, fresh wine with none of the heaviness shown by so many other examples from the appellation.

From 1997 and 1996 Rhone Valley Wines (Jan 1999) by Stephen Tanzer

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1997 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Tete du Cru

Color: Red

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1996 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Tete du Cru

Color: Red

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

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