News

A trio of Silver medals comes to Clos du Soleil’s trophy case.

 For immediate Release:

Keremeos, BC (May 28, 2018)

Clos du Soleil Winery has been notified that all three wines that they submitted to the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards have come back with medals. The 2016 Capella, 2014 Signature, and the 2013 Estate Reserve Red all returned with Silver medals. Winemaker and Managing Director Michael Clark said, “It is always gratifying to receive international recognition for our wines, especially from a competition of the caliber of the Decanter World Wine Awards.”

Along with the trio of Silver medals, the wines were also awarded point scores by the judges. Both Signature and Capella received 90 points while the Estate Reserve Red was rated at 91 points. All three winning wines have previous international recognition from wine critics and competitions in the past. Both Capella and Estate Reserve Red recently returned with Silver medals from the International Wine and Spirits Competition from London, UK. In addition, the Estate Reserve Red has also received a high 17.5 point score from Richard Hemming MW in reviews on JancisRobinson.com. These wines are all able to compete handily on the international stage.

This competition marks a rare occurrence when multiple awards are received simultaneously. Clark adds, “I feel that winning a Silver medal for every wine we entered this year really speaks to the consistency in quality across Clos du Soleil’s offerings.” This is not the first time that the two flagship wines have returned with the same medals. Both previous vintages were awarded Double-Gold medals at SIP Northwest Magazine’s “Best of the Northwest” competition in late 2017. To Clark, this is a testament to the unique terroir where these grapes are grown. “We take terroir expression very seriously, and so to see our wines competing with the very best from around the world speaks to the special character of our Similkameen Valley appellation.”

All three wines are current vintages and are all available from the winery’s website and at fine wine retail stores in your area.

About Clos du Soleil Winery

Clos du Soleil is an artisanal winery and estate vineyard in Keremeos, BC and is located on the Upper Bench of the southern Similkameen Valley in British Columbia, Canada. We produce ultra-premium quality wines, borrowing an aesthetic derived from the great wines of Bordeaux, but stamped with the flavours and aromas of our particular piece of rocky Similkameen land. Through traditional winemaking techniques, informed by research, but adhering to the philosophies of minimal-interventionist winemaking and biodynamic viticulture, we produce wines that are complex and classic, age-worthy and elegant.

About the Decanter World Wine Awards

Now in its 15^th year, the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) is the world’s largest and most influential wine competition.  Judged by the top wine experts from around the globe, the DWWA is trusted internationally for its rigorous judging process.

 

 

Media Contact

Stephanie Anderson

Sales & Marketing Manager

[email protected]

(604) 209-6911

 

Clos du Soleil Winery

2568 Upper Bench Road

Keremeos, BC

V0X 1N4

250-499-2831

https://www.closdusoleil.ca/

 

 

Winter is a good time to start reflecting on the qualities and attributes of the previous vintage. With all of our wines from 2017 safely tucked into their barrels and tanks, samples are starting to show traits that will indicate how the 2017 vintage will show once in bottle. It is not easy to tell how the wines will turn out but, recalling how Mother Nature treated the vineyard during the course of the growing season can give us some clues. Our winemaker, Michael Clark, has offered us a little bit of inside information about 2017’s weather.

“One of the joys, as well as the challenges, of winegrowing is that every year has its own distinct character, and it is the job of both the winemaker and viticulturist to synchronize oneself with that seasonal character, to draw out its best aspects and its inherent beauty.

2017 was one of those really distinctive years.  It had some interesting twists and turns, and by the end of the season produced high-quality grapes worthy of classically-styled wines, but it is those twists and turns along the route which make the end product all the more interesting.

The year started off slow: much cooler than the past several years in particular, and in a growing climate such as British Columbia where we always hope for a long growing season, this slow cool spring was a source of concern.  Of course Mother Nature follows her own course, and in the case of 2017 the summer warmed up tremendously, to such an extend that by the end of the summer, our total heat (in viticultural circles commonly quantified using something called “Growing Degree Days”) was typical for the long-term average for our region, and also quite close to the prior vintage. The autumn harvest period was reasonably cool and dry, leading to excellent picking conditions. Typical of the Similkameen, pressure from diseases was very low, and our organic-certified vineyard experienced very few problems in this respect.

This combination of a cool start, followed by a very hot dry summer, led to some interesting results in the grapes.  First and foremost, we found acidity levels in the grapes to be much higher than in most of the recent years.  For the style of age-worthy and food-friendly wines we like to produce at Clos du Soleil, this was excellent news, and we expect the 2017 vintage to express a classical elegance, and, moreover, to be long-lived for this reason.

The second important aspect was that crop levels were down significantly in 2017, due in no small part to the cold winter temperatures we experienced during the winter, particularly in the Similkameen Valley which does not have the moderating influence of the lakes which exist in the Okanagan.  While the smaller crop levels were unfortunate from an economic standpoint, it also meant that the smaller crop could ripen well, with intense flavours, in the environment of 2017 – so what was produced was of very high quality.

We look forward to sharing the results with our loyal customers in the coming years.  Every vintage is a like a story unto itself, and 2017 was no exception.  It is a story which customers will be able to enjoy time and time again over the coming decade.”

We are thrilled with a recent article that appeared on the website of internationally acclaimed wine writer Jancis Robinson at jancisrobinson.com. The article is a summary of a trip taken by Richard Hemming, MW late last summer. Along with comments about his impression of the BC wine industry in general, Hemming also posted his tasting notes for many of the wines that he tasted during his visit. We are pleased to note that our wines were among those that scored the highest points during his trip.

He particularly enjoyed the wines that occupy the top echelon of our portfolio – the Estate Reserve Red and Estate Reserve White.

Hemming had the opportunity to taste two vintages of the Estate Reserve Red – 2012 and 2013, both of which impressed him enough to give them the same score – 17.5. This puts both of these vintages among the top-scoring BC wines in this article. Hemming commented that the 2013 was “exciting and utterly delicious”. Hemming noted that the 2012 vintage had “a canny balance of fruit power with lovely savoury olive character to finish” among other wonderful comments.

On the Estate Reserve White, Hemming commented that it was “really attractive – subtle yet complete, with lovely grapefruit bitterness to finish”. He gave it a score of 17/20.

The full article can be viewed by clicking here. The full reviews of our wines from the article appear below.

Whites

Growers Series Pinot Blanc 2016 Similkameen Valley

TA 7.1 g/l, RS 5.7 g/l.

Pear juice, peach and green apple – plenty of fruit for this often neutral variety. Attractive bitter-almond note on the finish. Lovely restraint on the finish without any lack of flavour, and lovely fluffy grain to the mouthfeel. Great persistence too. (RH) 12.2%

Drink 2017-2019

17

 

Capella 2015 British Columbia

TA 8.3 g/l, RS 1.9 g/l. 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Smillon. Fermented and aged in barrel (55% wood, 45% steel).

Graphite, smoke, lemon curd. Waxy texture on the palate, but the overall impression is quite light. Tight palate with plenty of core fruit – and apparently, it can mature for many years. (RH) 13%

Drink 2017-2020

16.5

 

Capella 2014 British Columbia

TA 6.6 g/l, RS 1.8 g/l. 88% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Smillon.

Waxy, intense lemon fruit with some crystallised ginger. Plenty of body and weight on the palate – yet finishes with nimble delicacy and well-integrated acid. (RH) 12.5%

Drink 2016-2020

16.5

 

Estate Reserve 2015 Similkameen Valley

TA 6.98 g/l, RS 2.5 g/l. 96% Sauvignon Blanc, 4% Smillon.

More oak influence than on their Capella cuvée, and lovely creamy richness to the palate. Honeycomb and caramel notes on the finish. Really attractive – subtle yet complete, with lovely grapefruit bitterness to finish. (RH) 13.3%

Drink 2017-2022

17

 

Reds

Estate Reserve 2013 Similkameen Valley

TA 6.6 g/l, RS 2.1 g/l. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec. Aged for 17 months in French oak barrels.

Tremendous purity – absolutely ripe blackcurrants with a touch of red fruit too, and a lovely violet scent. Leather and liquorice notes – this is very Bordelais, but without the austerity. The tannin is very supple and yielding. Great pencil lead and smoke persistence. Exciting and utterly delicious. (RH) 13.2%

Drink 2018-2033

17.5

 

Estate Reserve 2012 Similkameen Valley

TA 7.1 g/l, RS 2.3 g/l. 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc. Aged 17 months in 100% French oak barrels.

More black fruit than the 2013, but with great balance of flavour giving spice and dark chocolate on the length. Great core fruit without over-extraction – this has a canny balance of fruit power with lovely savoury olive character to finish. (RH) 13.2%

Drink 2018-2032

17.5

 

Signature 2013 Similkameen Valley

51% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec.

Perhaps less fruit definition than their Estate Reserve, and a bit more tannin on the palate. This is a young and slightly raw wine at present, and should improve with a few years of maturation. Even so, the perfume is already promising and bodes well for the future. (RH) 13.8%

Drink 2019-2029

17++

 

Signature 2008 British Columbia

Includes a small percentage of Okanagan fruit – hence not labelled Similkameen.

Deep garnet colour. Beetroot, earth, black cherry and violet. Still quite grippy tannin on the palate and loads of aromatic perfume with tobacco smoke and spice giving lovely long persistence. (RH) 14.5%

Drink 2013-2028

17.5

Clos du Soleil Winery is pleased to announce the addition of Steve Roche to our team as Vineyard and Operations Manager. Roche brings a wealth of experience in organic viticulture with 21 years of vineyard management and viticultural experience in both warm and cool climactic regions. A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Roche has a Diploma in Viticulture from Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He moved to the Okanagan one year ago after spending the previous 8 years in Ontario.

Winemaker and Managing Director Michael Clark said, “I’m thrilled to have Steve join the Clos du Soleil team. Every year we continue to push ourselves to produce the most expressive wines from our Similkameen terroir.” Roche will be taking a lead role in the development of the new “Les Collines” vineyard property, which was acquired in 2017. “Steve will be playing an essential role in this process, and we are looking forward to the important contributions he will make to our organic and biodynamic practices.”

Roche is very excited about the unique potential of Clos du Soleil’s vineyard sites and is already hard at work in maximizing the potential of these sites. Clark’s non-interventionist winemaking philosophy means that fruit quality and terroir expression are front-and-centre in all Clos du Soleil wines. Roche believes “that we are the custodians of the land for generations to come. I see it as our duty to leave the soil in a better condition than when we found it.” High-quality viticulture is essential to Clos du Soleil and Roche will be playing a lead role in pushing that quality ever further.

A historic event for Clos du Soleil’s wine portfolio has just been announced by SIP Northwest Magazine. Both Capella and Signature have taken home Double-Gold medals from SIP Northwest’s “Best of the Northwest” wine awards. Never  before in Clos du Soleil’s history have both flagship wines taken home the same award from the same competition. “Needless to say, we are ecstatic,” says Winemaker and Managing Director Michael Clark. “It is such a nice combination for us to have both Signature and Capella recognized that way.”

The winning vintages were the 2015 Capella and the 2013 Signature. The 2015 Capella, which received a 91-Point score from John Schreiner, is the tenth vintage of this wine ever produced and uses a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (80%) and Semillon (20%) grapes. A previous vintage of this wine had been served to Her Majesty the Queen at Canada House in London, England.

This has been a banner year for the 2013 Signature, which is now the most decorated wine in the winery’s history. With a gold each at Intervin and the Wine Align National Wine Competition, a silver at Decanter’s Word Wine Awards, and a 92-point score from Anthony Gismondi, the 2013 Signature has clearly garnered some high praise over the past year. Signature is always a Bordeaux-inspired blend that, for the 2013 vintage, included Merlot (51%), Cabernet Sauvignon (34%), Cabernet Franc (11%), Petit Verdot (2%), and Malbec (2% ).

The full list of winners is available on the SIP Northwest Magazine website.

The year just keeps getting better and better for our flagship red blend, Signature. After a 93-point score from John Schreiner, 92-points from Anthony Gismondi, and a Silver Medal (and 91-points) from Decanter World Wine Awards, Signature has just received a Gold Medal from the 2017 Wine Align National Wine Awards of Canada!

“Naturally, we’re thrilled,” says Winemaker and Managing Director Michael Clark. “Wine Align has some of the most knowledgeable wine judges in Canada so this indeed is a wonderful honour.”

Signature brought home a Gold Medal in the “Red Blends” category where it shared honours next to some of the most respected wines in Canada. The competition was huge this year and may be one of the largest wine competitions in the country. Among all of those amazing wines, our 2013 Signature was clearly a standout for the judges!

Signature has been produced in every vintage since 2006 and is always a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, and often includes Petit Verdot and/or Malbec. The 2013 vintage is made up of 51% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. It was aged for 17 months in French oak barrels and then bottled, unfiltered and unfined, in June of 2015.

Click here for more information about the 2013 Signature or to place an order for it online.

 

We are proud to announce the arrival of the 2016 Sémillon as a pre-release exclusive to our Soleil 160 Wine Club members!

This is an extremely special vintage that could never be duplicated again and here is why: The 2016 Sémillon was the first, and only, white wine to be fermented in one of our new French concrete tanks. Though we may produce another single-variety Sémillon in future vintages, it will never be done in these concrete fermenters in the same way ever again. After fermentation, it was racked only a single time and then aged on the fine lees for 8 months before a light filtering just before bottling. The handling of this wine could not have been gentler! Winemaker Michael Clark describes it as having flavours of “lemon and lime, wet stone, light buttery tones, and a hint of apricot” and notes an intriguing “electrical streak of minerality and refreshing acidity”.

Only 110 cases of this wine were produced and they will certainly not last long. Members of our Soleil 160 Wine Club can log in to the member’s area of our website and head to the Store, where you will find the new Sémillon!

If you are not yet a member, you can certainly join in on the fun and take advantage of this very special pre-release wine! Join now by visiting our Wine Club page.

The wine will retail for $24.90 but of course, Soleil 160 members get it at the discounted rate of $22.40! It is just another reason why the Soleil 160 Wine Club is one of the most worthwhile experiences under the sun.

Clos du Soleil Winery is pleased to announce the acquisition of a new vineyard. Winemaker and Managing Director Michael Clark says that the new property will be called “Les Collines” (a French term meaning “the hills”), a nod to Clos du Soleil’s French influence and the unique topography of this parcel of land. The land is hilly terrain comprised of several steep ridges which is ideal terroir for growing Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes that will be used to produce Clos du Soleil’s white wines such as their flagship white Capella and the Estate Reserve White.

Les Collines is over 10 acres in size with 5 acres scheduled to be planted and is located only a short distance west from the winery’s Estate Vineyard near Keremeos. Critically, the property is already certified organic which is in line with their current practices at their Estate vineyard. Clark will continue to maintain organic certification for Les Collines and will be practicing biodynamics on this property. Clark believes that living soils are crucial to maintaining vine health and for producing grapes that most truly represent their place. “My single-minded mission at Clos du Soleil is to produce the very highest quality wines,” says Clark. “I focus on producing wines which are complex, elegant, age-worthy, and that transparently speak of the land in which they were grown.” The balance of the acreage will be retained and preserved for local plants and wildlife as natural wild habitat.

For grape growing, the soil composition is of paramount importance for establishing a vineyard. The soil at Les Collines is extremely rocky with high levels of angular rocks within the gravelly loam and is similar in composition to the upper bench Similkameen soil series seen on their Estate vineyard. In addition, the organic practices already in place on this property have contributed to maintaining soil health and quality. As a result, Les Collines is already primed for the highest-quality grape production and will be planted with Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon vines. Sources for an ideal mix of clones (including Sauvignon Blanc clones 530, 242, and 906) have already been retained and planting is scheduled to begin in the spring in 2018.

Aside from the high quality viticultural characteristics, the land has extreme physical beauty: rugged and majestic with breath-taking views over the whole valley. “This small but exquisite new vineyard parcel will be a gem for Clos du Soleil, expressing all of the very best qualities of the Upper Bench Similkameen Valley,” says Clark.