Product Description
95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"The 2010 Cote-Roue Fortis smells like the perfume house of Chanel. Very intense with notes of spring flowers, tropical fruits, raspberries, smoke and frying bacon, it possesses a superb, full-bodied texture and decent acidity. Pure, rich and impossible to resist, it should drink well for 12-13 years."
***** John Livingstone-Learmonth
"85-95% Syrah, 5-15% Viognier, young vines, from mainly rented vineyards on Le Combard (Ampuis, late 1990s) is 80% Blonde, 20% Brune/St Cyr wine (until 2005 was Montmain (1989), Les Bercheries (Tupin, 1998), Bons-Arrêts (Tupin, 2005-08), 75% destemmed, 3-week vinification, cap punching, aged new oak 580-litre casks 19-24 months, unfined, has risen from 5-6,000 b to 11,000 b; red robe, three-quarter depth.
The nose combines red fruit and a red meat droplets note, shows its ripeness, and has a cocoa, low-key floral and iris, treacle sponge air. It is good and wide, with a wee mineral liberty present. The palate is wavy, has layers of red fruits that are tasty and prolonged. The gras richness performs very well, is really well installed. Young wine that ends on nutty, drier tones. Combines depth and style. It draws together tightly on the finish, is real long-lived wine in the making. This will be great at 10-15 years’ old, for instance. It concentrates on the finish, is dark there, with black raisin, spice snap and oak in the mix. 13°. From 2016-17. 2030-32."
Vinous Reverie Notes
With a 57-acre domaine spanning Condrieu, Saint Joseph and Cote-Rotie, Stephane Montez’s success comes from a combination of hard work, experience, an intimate knowledge of his terroirs, and modern improvements of the classic winemaking process. To concentrate flavor in his grapes, Montez grasses 70% of the vine rows and rotates the grapes to maximize sun exposure. He places younger vines on terraces, so that the sun reflects off of the stones and shines back up onto the grapes. For red wines, Montez destalks the grapes and allows fermentation to proceed for 3-4 weeks at low temperature (23-30°C) with no added yeast. He uses le pigeage (punch-down) to extract more tannins from the skins, then ages the wines for 1-3 years in barrels. All wines are aged in a special kind of barrel called a demi-muid — a 580-liter oak cask, which makes his wines less dry than the traditional, smaller casks. A mixture of new and old oak is used for aging. Tasting Notes: Made from a blend of Syrah and 8-10% Viognier, Montez’s Côte Rôtie Fortis is fermented in a sandwich — Syrah first, then Viognier, then more Syrah on top — thus preventing over-oxidization of the Viognier grapes and releasing a fruitier, less dry feel than other Côte-Rôties. The complex nose offers spicy tapenade, brine, minerals, earth, and coffee grounds along with pungent herbal notes, particularly juniper. Full bodied. The palate suggests dark fruits, herbs, roasted meat, coffee grounds, black olives, earth, and tapenade plus something smoky. The long, lingering finish builds in fruity intensity over time. An overlying thin vein of minerality and ample tannins contribute to remarkable balance. Food Pairing: Grilled steak or barbecued meat.
