New vineyard in the sun
Set against the backdrop of a dramatically bare mountainside studded with a few evergreens, this 10-acre southward-facing vineyard rises up the steep Upper Bench of the Similkameen Valley. Fittingly, its new name is La Cote, which is “the slope” in French.
The name of the winery that just purchased it, Clos du Soleil in Keremeos, is also French and translates to “vineyard in the sun.”
In keeping with the French theme, La Cote, and Clos du Soleil’s other vineyards, including Les Collines (hill), grow grape varieties originating from France’s renowned Bordeaux region.
They are, of course, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon for the whites and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot for the reds. La Cote is already lined with high-quality mature vines. However, it will immediately be converted to organic and biodynamic practices, in keeping with Clos du Soleil’s viticultural standards.
The well-drained gravelly loam of La Cote and Clos du Soleil’s other vineyards produce grapes that make “elegant and age-worthy wines blended from Bordeaux varieties, but tasting unmistakably of the Similkameen,” according to winemaker and managing director Michael Clark. Such a build up demands that these wines be tasted. So, I tried the winery’s flagship red and white. The aptly-named Clos du Soleil 2014 Signature ($45) is a classic red Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.
The full-bodied and complex result has smooth tannins and uplifting acidity with an elegant profile of raspberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, black pepper, cedar and mint.
The flagship white, Clos du Soleil 2016 Capella ($28), veers from the French theme to take the Italian term for the brightest star in the Auriga constellation.
As such, this blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon is a radiant show of grapefruit, lime, pineapple and minerality.