THE ESTATE
THE CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE APPELLATION
Château Fortia is located at the heart of the most famous appellation in the southern Rhône Valley, Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
The history of the village and its wines is closely linked to that of the Avignon Papacy which considerably contributed to their reputation and commercialisation.
Regularly swept by the winds of the mistral and enjoying a warm and dry climate, the vines grown on the appellation give rise to powerful, tannic and concentrated wines.
The terroir of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation is unique and has three main characteristics: Cretaceous era limestone soils, Tertiary era sandy soils and sandstones as well as terraces made up of quartzite pebbles. The blend of these components is at the root of our soils’ diversity which, when combined with the 13 grape varieties authorised, makes it possible to produce a broad array of wines within a same appellation.
OUR TERROIR
Château Fortia stretches over 36 hectares of which 32 are devoted to growing vines. The rest, made up of woods, flowered borders as well as gardens and a vegetable garden, contribute to the balance of the ecosystem on our estate. The unsegmented property is situated at the locality “La Fortiasse”, to the south of the village.
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.
OF CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
COVER 90% OF OUR ESTATE
TAKING CARE OF THE VINES
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.
IN A WARM AND DRY CLIMATE, OUR FRUITs BATHED IN SUNSHINE PRODUCE POWERFUL, TANNIC AND CONCENTRATED WINES
OUR PLOTS
OUR VINEYARD
Our vines have an average age of 30 years old and are mainly red wine varieties. Grenache noir, the appellation’s emblematic grape variety, is predominant.
We also grow Syrah grapes, which flourish especially well on our terroir, as well as Mourvèdre. As regards white grape varieties, Roussanne, Clairette and Grenache Blanc can be found on our vineyard.
We believe that the expression of our terroir requires methods that are respectful of the vines, blending that exalts the wines and an ageing process that is not dominant in order to respect the characteristics of each of our grape varieties.
ABOVE ALL, THE EXPRESSION OF OUR TERROIR REQUIRES
METHODS THAT ARE
RESPECTFUL OF THE VINES
