Chateau Fortia
Château Fortia holds an important place in the history of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It was here that Baron Le Roy de Boiseaumarie was instrumental in the establishment of the Appellation Contrôlée system. When Bruno Le Roy took over in 1994, he hired the well-known Cornas oenologist Jean-Luc Colombo as winemaker. This is one of the few Châteauneuf-du-Pape's that contain a high percentage of Syrah, usually 40%. As a result, these wines have a longer than average life. It is also one of the older estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with it's original founding in 1763. Château Fortia is not a winery that chases good press on a whim. These are consistent, classic wines that faithfully represent the region’s terroir year after year.
Chateau Fortia can date itself all the way back to its humble beginnings as a Southern Rhone Valley farm in 1763. Chateau Fortia was one of the larger vineyards in the region by the mid to late 1800’s. The property takes its name from the founder of the estate, the Marquis de Fortia. The beautiful estate continued to expand over the years. The first label displaying the Chateau Fortia name was produced in 1930. Today Chateau Fortia is owned and managed by the Le Roy family who have been in charge of the property since the early part of the 20th century.
Located not far from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape village the 30 hectare vineyard is planted to grapes to produce both red and white wine. 2.5 hectares are devoted for white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, while the remaining 27.5 hectares are used for the production of red wine. Even though most of their vines are in one large parcel, the soils are varied. They have a terroir of sand, clay, limestone and large rocks in their soil. The vineyard is planted to mostly Grenache with Syrah and a bit of Mourvedre. Their wines go through a long, cool fermentation in small lots by varietal and are then aged 18 months in old oak foudres prior to bottling.
The vines are all located on gentle south-facing slopes which are covered in rounded pebbles that play an important role for our vines. They accumulate the warmth of the day which they then give off at night, fostering superb ripeness and concentration in our grapes. From this rich and complex terroir, generously bathed in sunshine and regularly ventilated by the mistral, each year we gather the finest fruit produced by our work and love for our profession.
"Respect for our land and vineyard primarily involves respect for the environment and the balance of our ecosystem. We work our soils mechanically, without using chemical weed-killer; to combat grapevine moths we prefer to use pheromone traps (that employ the mating disruption technique) rather than insecticides; two thirds of the property is a hunting reserve, which encourages the development of plant-life and wild-life. The vineyard of Château Fortia has been Terra Vitis certified since 2016, which is a testimony to the sustainable and integrated approach used. In 2019, our estate also obtained level 3 High Environmental Value certification, which is a voluntary approach recognised by the public authorities that guarantees good environmental and health practices in day-to-day management of estates."
