Clos du Soleil rose to the challenge of two quite different vintages

Photo: Clos du Soleil's Michael Clark

The 2022 vintage has produced many excellent wines. Michael Clark, the winemaker and general manager at Clos du Soleil Winery, has just released one white from the Similkameen that shows off the vintage.

“Capella, the flagship white wine of Clos du Soleil, represents our ultimate expression of what Similkameen terroir can produce in a white wine,” Michael writes. “This 2022 vintage derives entirely from our top two vineyard sites for Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.” The other wine is a small lot Chardonnay with fruit from the winery’s organic La Côte Vineyard.

Capella is a blend of 71% Sauvignon Blanc and 29% Sémillon, with fruit from two Keremeos area vineyards – Whispered Secret and Les Collines. Each vineyard block was harvested separately. The grapes were crushed, destemmed and cold-soaked on the skins for three hours. The wines were fermented in French oak puncheons mostly with indigenous yeast. Ten per cent of the barrels were also allowed to go through spontaneous malolactic fermentation. All the lots were barrel-aged on the lees for nine months, which lees stirring to build texture. The final wine was blended from the best barrels.

Because the 2022 Chardonnay has not been released yet, here is a note on the 2021, which is still in the market. Because I have the specification sheets for both wines, I have gained some insight in how Michael dealt with diametrically different vintages. The 2021 vintage included the record-breaking heat spike, which resulted in small berries that were very ripe. The 2022 vintage was much more moderate, with a very long hang time and higher yields than in the previous year. In 2021, Clos du Soleil picked the Chardonnay on September 24, three weeks earlier than the Chardonnay pick in 2022. However, the early harvest in 2021 enabled Michael to keep the sugar under control. The 2021 Chardonnay has a moderate alcohol of 12.4% and a piquant acidity of 7.6 grams per litre. The 2022 has 12.7% alcohol and 6.45 grams of acidity. Both wines were fermented entirely in older French oak puncheons and were not allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. They were aged eight months on the lees, with occasional lees stirring. The objective was to produce wines with bright, expressive fruit and piquant acidity. Both of the 2022 Capella and the 2021 Chardonnay are still youthful wines that will benefit from another year or two of bottle aging. Capella, in particular, develops great complexity with age, and can age gracefully for as long as 10 years.

Here are notes on the wines.

Clos du Soleil Capella 2022 ($31.90 for 998 cases). The wine begins with aromas of grapefruit and lime. These are echoed on the palate along with hints of orchard fruits. For current consumption, the wine is crisp and fresh. The texture promises a richness that will develop on the palate with age. 92.

Clos du Soleil Chardonnay 2021 Winemaker’s Series ($29.90 for 214 cases). The wine begins with aromas of apple, honeydew melon, quince and citrus. Crisp and fresh on the palate, it delivers flavours that echo the aromas, along with a spine of minerality. 91.