Written By Treve Ring Libations / Red Wine May 20, 2010 Clos du Soleil Red 2007 SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter PinterestSimilkameen Valley ($39-45)www.closdusoleil.caThis week’s Bloom – VQA spring release tasting – burst forth in both Victoria and Vancouver. There were a number of lovelies that I’m looking forward to revisiting very soon (La Stella Leggiero, La Vieux Pin Reserve Merlot, Tantalus Rose, Dirty Laundry Hush, Black Hills Alibi among them), but the winery that is imprinted in my mind – and on my palate – is Clos du Soleil.One of BC’s newer wineries, Clos du Soleil is a collaboration of friends, nestled in the Similkameen, and fostered by the respected Lawrence and Sharon Herder, of Herder Winery. While cofounder Spenser Massie and his team are obviously enamored with all things French – especially Bordeaux – the crew at Clos du Soleil believe that less is more. Their current portfolio consists of two wines – White, and Red. Pretty simple. Until you taste them, that is. Suddenly ‘simple’ doesn’t suffice.White 2007 is a creamy, smooth lemon and mineral knockout – a blend of 95% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Semillon. Nutty and spicy, with citrus, gooseberry and a great river of minerality spiking through, fresh acid and a beautiful balance – I was sure I had tasted my favourite wine of the day.Until I tasted the Red 2007 that is. Wow – this meritage blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc is polished, layered and lengthy. A beautiful dusty gravel nose is surrounded with warm jammy raspberry, cherry, cedar and herbs. Powerful with structure, yet elegant and smooooth – I have no doubt this will age well, but will be hard to keep around long enough to see. Spenser shared that future vintages of Red will contain Malbec and Petit Verdot as their vines mature – a full Bx set. With Niagara winemaker Ann Sperling newly added to the team, I’m getting giddy just thinking about it.There are only 450 cases of each Red and White available, so pick one (or two) up when you see them – and do me a favor – let me know how they age, k?Rating: (click here to see what our wine ratings mean) OkanaganRed WineWine Reviews SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Written By: Treve Ring Treve Ring is a wine writer, editor, judge, consultant and certified sommelier, and has been with EAT Magazine for over a decade.\r\n\r\nIn addition to her work with EAT, she is a Wine Critic and National Judge for ... Read More You may also like Beer / Beer & Cider / Drink / Events / Victoria March 24, 2019 A New Beer Society in Town Victoria Beer Week launched its sixth annual festival earlier this month, which ran from March 1-9. In addition to the festival returning for another ... Read More Beer / Wineries & Breweries February 4, 2019 Vancouver Island Brewery’s New Porter and New Re-Rebrand Vancouver Island Brewery unveils new porter along with their new re-rebrand Vancouver Island Brewery held a flight night last week, in part to ... Read More Causes / Events January 25, 2019 Blue Monday Pop-Up Bar – 100 Proof Blues January can be tough around these parts. In fact, it has come to be so globally known as such, that the third Monday of each January has ... Read More Cocktails / Events January 25, 2019 The Complete Bartender Competition 2019 Little Jumbo played host to Nimble Bar Co.’s The Complete Bartender Competition, January 16, 2019 Last Wednesday, I judged my first cocktail ... Read More Beer & Cider / Events / Victoria March 1, 2018 Victoria Beer Week launches its fifth year Victoria is once again readying itself to host the fifth annual Victoria Beer Week. As locals and beer geeks alike wet their palates for special ... Read More Coffee & Tea / Victoria December 18, 2017 Level Ground Trading Moves Up to New State-of-the-Art Headquarters Victoria, BC – Level Ground Trading, Victoria’s Fair Trade pioneer, is moving from their current location in Central Saanich, to a larger ... Read More Comments are closed.
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