Born and raised in the Southeast of France, Guillaume comes from a family of grape growers and winemakers. After 24 years in Narbonne, he moved to Bordeaux. Both regions famous for their wines are also very different from each other. It requires some grape growing and winemaking experience to switch from one to the other, such as different climates, soil types, vine illnesses and more. But life is full of surprises. Not convinced he wanted to make wine in Bordeaux, he took a harvest internship at L’Aventure in Paso Robles. The same bolt of lighting that he felt for Solène, struck again. He fell in love with the soil and terroir of Paso Robles. What was supposed to be a 3-month harvest internship, turned into 6 months, and he was offered the position of Assistant Winemaker. While working for L’Aventure, he worked day and night on his own project - to launch his very own brand. In 2007, Clos Solène was born.
When Guillaume and Solène acquired the estate in January of 2017, the existing vineyard was planted in 1998 onto vigorous rootstock. The rows were planted a little wider than Guillaume would have planted, but he felt that it was a great place to start, especially having 20-year-old vines in place, which is considered “old vines” for this area. After testing to make sure the vines were clean of any and all viruses, Guillaume decided to re-graft the whole 8 acres and turn the plot into a nursery for future planting.
Robert Parker on Clos Solene:
"Clos Solène was founded in 2007 by Guillaume and Solène Fabre. At present, they make about 2,500 cases a year but have recently purchased their own estate and hope to grow the brand to around 4,000 cases. Guillaume, a native of the Languedoc-Roussillon in France, has begun planting rootstocks and grafting over vines and is experimenting with Côte-Rôtie-style training for his Syrah vines. Currently, most of the fruit is purchased, but the pair hopes to dial back to only 30% purchased fruit as their own vines come online. Guillaume says he wants his wines to have “a common denominator of elegance and perfume,” and indeed the wines are much more restrained than is usual for Paso. 2017 with its heat spikes was especially challenging here. “It was 105 degrees for two straight weeks,” Guillaume recalls. “We picked a bit earlier, used less new oak, less stems and less extraction. We did triage picks and then sorted very heavily. We lost about 30% to 40% of production on the sorting table because we let go of anything impacted by that heat. - Erin BROOKS"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (February 2020)
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When the founding fathers of the Napa Valley carved out new sub-AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) in the 1980s, Soda Canyon Ranch was not yet on anyone’s map. The vineyard is neighbored to the northwest and west by the winegrowing districts of Stags Leap District and Oak Knoll District, respectively, which were among the early pioneers of California Cabernet Sauvignon to attain global fame. To the northeast and southeast—and further off the beaten path—were Atlas Peak and Coombsville, thought to be the next frontiers for the emerging wine-producing region.
With richness and depth of flavor, the 2018 Timeless Napa Valley is the embodiment of patience and attention to detail. Decades of experience at Soda Canyon Ranch allow winemaker Nate Weis and team to highlight the individual merits of each block. Combining the strongest lots from each resulted in a refined and harmonious bottling.
In 2018, the diurnal shift at Soda Canyon Ranch produced a darker, lusher fruit profile of Cabernet Sauvignon. Simultaneously, the overnight recovery periods resulted in expressive and refined Merlot, giving the wine a pleasant profile of bright, red fruit. With an extended harvest window, the signature, plush density and structure of Petit Verdot is also prevalent in the final blend. Cabernet Franc thrived in 2018 with its predilection for the cooler soils and the climate of blocks 5, 6, 16, 20 and 21—areas we call the Transition Zone and Hardpan Alley. The variety’s floral and tobacco-like aromatics are accentuated, and its more aggressive nature for back-end tannins tamed.
Once blended, the 2018 vintage rested in French oak barrels for 16 months, developing flavors of vanilla and baking spice. Velvety tannins dance across the palate of bright and lingering cassis. With a smooth finish, this is a comforting wine of elegance and depth—a sophisticated expression of the sedate summer.
Review:
This is a little old-school and shows lots of dark berry, chocolate and dried fruit. It’s full, dense and layered with fleshly sensibility. Velvety texture.
-James Suckling 93 Points
A ruby red garnet color, ripe fruit aromas, dried fruits, hints of licorice and scents of vanilla. Robust and harmonious in the mouth, a rich texture. The wine is only produced in the best vintages.
The grapes are coming from a vineyard planted at 400 meters above sea level. The soil is mainly marl and limestone.
The density of vines per hectare is 5,000 plants, which is equivalent to 2,000 vines per acre.
The pruning technique used is cordon
The grapes used are 100% Sangiovese grosso
Alcoholic fermentation was done in tank, while the Malo-Lactic fermentation was carried in oak barrels.
Wine was then aged for one year in big French oak barrels and 3 years in Slavonian oak barrels.