“In this series we bring you our #FavouriteThings Holiday Gift Suggestions which we personally recommend”
Always a favourite the wines of Clos du Soleil are so popular they often sell out very quickly. Also please keep in mind that holiday deliveries have a early cutoff date.
Here are two Holiday Specials from the Clos du Soleil portfolio that will make great gifts for all the wine lovers on your list.
2021 WINEMAKER’S VIOGNIER ~ HOLIDAY SPECIAL
This Viognier* is a wine that will put a smile on your face. Intense, yet sophisticated, it is the image of summer.
NOSE
The perfumed nose is full of ripe fruit: peaches and nectarines, pineapple and mango, with notes of wild flowers.
MOUTH
On the palate the wine is round, soft and full, with those same flavours of peach, nectarine and apricot, ripe orange flesh, with tropical notes leading into a long finish.
BODY
Full
WINEMAKING NOTES
The grapes for this wine were grown in Clos du Soleil’s “La Côte” vineyard, on the Upper Bench of the Similkameen Valley (vineyard in transition to organic status). The grape clusters were harvested by hand at peak maturity, and then pressed very gently, whole cluster. After a brief settling, the juice was fermented in old, neutral puncheons of French oak, and then aged in those puncheons, on the lees for 6 months. A light filtration at the time of bottling was the only other step. The result is a pure expression of variety and site.
* Vegan wine
2020 WINEMAKER’S SERIES SYRAH
This single-vineyard Syrah* is part of our acclaimed Winemaker’s Series.
EYES
A deep purple in the glass.
NOSE
Immediately the perfumed nose of this wine envelops the taster with aromas of freshly crushed raspberries, plums and violets, complemented with subtle notes of baking spice and sagebrush.
MOUTH
On the palate the flavours are rich, complex and layered: wild raspberries and dark forest fruit, accented with black currants and chocolate, and notes of spice. With a full mouthfeel structured on a backdrop of stony tannins, this exclusive and limited-production Syrah is an opportunity to see another side of Clos du Soleil.
BODY
Full
WINEMAKING NOTES
Hand harvested at peak maturity, the grapes for this wine were very gently de-stemmed, lightly crushed, and then fermented in our concrete fermenters. Destemmed Viognier grapes (3%) were co-fermented with the Syrah. Fermentation lasted for approximately 3 weeks, prior to pressing in a basket press. The wine was then aged for 16 months in French oak barrels (5% new). As in all Clos du Soleil wines, the focus was on attention to detail, minimal interventions, and the expression of terroir.
* Vegan
MAKING CONSISTENTLY BEAUTIFUL WINE
It’s all about the vineyard and the wine in the bottle.
Clos du Soleil is a small artisan winery and estate vineyard on the Upper Bench of the South 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, ageable and elegant.
Wine notes courtesy of the winery. Images: MyVanCity. I received complimentary wine to facilitate this feature.