Alexandre Dumas

A great writer and a giant of a man, Dumas was also a gourmet, or a gourmand, even occasionally a glutton, but unquestionably a great gastronome. His Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine ( Great Culinary Dictionary) is an anthology. In it he mentions, particularly, all of the wines that he tasted - and they were numerous!
Among the wines that he felt should be included in the "cellar of any host of our time", he includes La Nerthe in the same category as Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion, and Romanée Conti.
And later, he states: " The classification of wines is something very important. Fortunately, here we can give an excellent one, true to tradition. […] Everyone knows that great wines are those which bring together at the highest level all of the intrinsic qualities of this sovereign among beverages…. ". Following in order of descending merit he noted vins fins, les grands ordinaries, les bons ordinaries, les ordinaries, les vins communs, lourds, grossiers et plats.
In his selection of Grands vins rouges français (Great French red wines), Alexandre Dumas cites only one wine from the Vaucluse: Clos de la Nerthe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape.