A couple of weekends ago I had the privilege of meeting the owner of Clos du Soleil at a Saturday Village Wines tasting. Spencer Massie, a fairly new face to the B.C. wine industry has managed to preserve old world integrity without having to sacrifice new world style. The wines are reminiscent of a Bordeaux backbone, interwoven with the fleshy flair that is B.C.
The Clos du Soleil White 2007, at $26.92, is a blend of 95% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Semillion. The grapes were whole cluster pressed, fermented in stainless steel and then aged in neutral barrels for 12-18 months.
The nose on this wine is simply tantalizing. Aromatics of citrus, Meyer lemons, and grapefruit mingle with the rich aromas of tropical fruits, followed by an underlying layer of wet stone and very subtle petrol notes. The palate is consumed by tangerine and a bite of lemon meringue pie with a touch of spice. The mouth feel is smooth and soft along the edges. The fruit and acid are beautifully balanced, a complex profile with great concentration and definitive elegance. This is a fabulous Sauvignon Blanc and I'm relieved to say, not another watery glass of green. In fact it's quite the opposite.
The Clos du Soleil Red 2007, at $38.92 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Franc. This wine has spent 18 months in 80% French and 10% American oak. The nose on this wine is vibrantly complex, expressing nuances of smokey cigar box, wet leather, ripe black cherries, cassis, red licorice, all sprinkled with a pinch of fresh cracked pepper, followed by a sweet vanilla finish. This wine proceeds to explode on your palate with flavors of red cherry, cassis, black berry all interwoven with spicy black pepper and cedar. The higher acid and medium (+) tannin in this wine is a sure candidate for your cellar. Don't be afraid to sit on it for 5-10 yrs. Like the great Bordeaux wines, this baby has been strategically constructed for ageing, if you so desire. Don't be discouraged however, decant at breakfast and you'll have a more elegant, approachable version to enjoy with your lamb shank or prime rib. This is a serious wine and should be taken on as such. It's a fantastic example of having both worlds in one glass. Who said you couldn't have your cake and eat it to. I'm calling it a BC Bordeaux.
Clos du Soleil is the paradigm of how quantity almost always does not equate to quality in the wine world. They focus on their white and red blends and with that have only produced 450 and 270 cases of the two, respectively. Low yields, greater concentration, higher quality wines. It's that simple.
Stay tuned for their up and coming full Bordeaux blend, their young Malbec and Petit Verdot vines are on their way. A Sauternes as well- a lil something I heard through the grapevine...pardon the pun :)
They're located in Keremeos, of the Similkameen Valley. For more info visit them at www.closdusoleil.ca
Perhaps it's "decant at breakfast"? ha ha
ReplyDeleteThat's my subconscious kicking in. Would go quite nicely with a dark chocolate croissante haha.
ReplyDeleteBetter change that :)