Austin Hohnke

9.0

60% Roussanne, 30% Clairette, 10% Grenache Blanc. Lovely weight and texture with round citrus, stone fruit, hawthorn, vanillin, and a lengthy mineral finish. Elegant with nice complexity. Sustainably farmed. — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.1

This was a fun one. A friend of mine, a wine guy that predominately drinks new world Cabernet Sauvignon, was visiting my place and wanted to try something from the old world. I figured it might be fun to try two different expressions of Syrah from the Rhône; one from the North (Auguste Clape’s “Le Vin des Amis” with vines located in and around Cornas) and one from the South (Chateau Fortia “Reserve” from Chateauneuf du Pape). Both bottles were from the same vintage and aged (at least partially) in foudre. Popped and poured. “Le Vin des Amis” appears as a deep, glass staining purple color with medium+ viscosity. On the nose, high intensity with purple flowers and a powerful bacon fat/deli case smell. Funky, but not in a barnyard sort of way; more like a reductive sort of way. The funk eventually blew off after 15-20 minutes. There are blue fruits with a generous amount of black pepper. On the palate, blue and red fruits with black pepper, lavender and iron-like minerals. Medium tannin, Medium+ acid. Medium alcohol. Long, lip smacking finish. A very giving wine that punches way high above its weight class considering this is Clape’s “entry level” wine. Clape’s “entry-level” offering — 3 years ago

Elian Mathiot

9.3

2003 white chateauneuf du pape - fortia — 9 years ago

Katie

9.0

Hand picked only
40/40/20
GSM
Good vanilla smell
Impression of sweetness, good fruit, well balanced, fresh — a year ago

with Alex

Dana Wagner

9.5

Great CDP. Paired rightfully with beef bourguignon. Dark blackberry, rich earth. — 4 years ago

Piyush Patel

9.0

Really tasty with the smokey Bbq at Lamberts. Really loved how light body this CDP is. — 9 years ago

Amy Bermar

9.5

Had the 2009. Outstanding. Full and smooth. — 10 years ago

Jim Stehli

9.0

Tart, round fruit touch of earth and leather. Can taste the Syrah but that’s not overwhelming. Very good, would happily revisit, albeit ideally “in person”! — a year ago

Tucker Lusk

9.7

Never had a CDP this old. Definitely past it’s prime, but fun to drink never the less. — 2 years ago

Tom Casagrande

8.9

Big, fruity nose with lots of blackberry and kirsch, some minerality, and a bit of spice cake and woodsmoke. Mouthfilling and very ripe. Peppery heat in the back half of the palate as the flavors fade prematurely. Lots of oomph but not a lot of complexity or length.

It’s remarkable what has happened to CDP since I tasted my first one 35 years ago (‘76 Fortia). They have gotten way less terroir-driven, and gone way more toward the jammy fruit 15% alcohol end of the spectrum. Initially, this was Parkerism at work. Then Cambie came on the scene and further pushed towards “clean,” formulaic wines of the Parkerist variety (winning Parker’s accolades as a result). But now, even if there were to be a revolt by individual growers wanting to return to the mineral-soaked, less fruit-driven, and iodine and garrigue scented wines of the 70s, mankind’s alteration of the climate would make this impossible.

I still have some CDPs in my cellar to work through, but I will be doing so with resignation, not expectation. Those who like homogenous, fiery jam jars will keep CDP at its current level of “prestige,” but until I hit the lottery and can get some Rayas, I will stop buying them. Sad. — 7 years ago