2016 Clos Solene Syrah Fleur De Solene
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Tasting notes
Tasted out of bottle, the 2016 Fleur de Solene is 43% Syrah, 35% Grenache, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 18 months in 30% new French oak. It’s a full-bodied yet light, elegant and complex effort that has lots of sweet black raspberry and cassis fruits, notes of spice, pepper, and game, fine tannins, and a great finish. It’s a beautiful wine any way you look at it and should cruise for 10-15 years in cold cellars. The big news at Guillaume Fabre’s Clos Solene is the purchase of a new estate, in the heart of the limestone hills on the west side of Paso Robles, that’s in the process of being renovated and replanted. The young vines here should go into production in the next couple of years, and now that Fabre has his own vines and estate, I expect the quality only to increase. As always, these wines are rich and concentrated, yet it’s the purity of fruit and seamless mouthfeels that set his wines apart. These don’t come cheap, but they deliver the goods.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
(40% new French oak) Deep bright-rimmed ruby. Ripe red and blue fruit and vanilla aromas are complicated by sexy floral and Indian spice notes. Silky and energetic on the palate, offering intense raspberry and boysenberry flavors that tighten up slowly and become spicier with air. Takes a turn to darker fruit on the youthfully tannic, persistent finish, which features suggestions of sweet chewing tobacco and mocha.
A blend of 43% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Fleur de Solène reveals aromas of ripe raspberries and blackberries, complemented by top notes of dried flowers and subtle mocha. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and ample, structured around abundant but fine-grained tannins and concludes with a complex, savory finish. Already generous and textural, it should be interesting to follow for a decade.
Tasted out of bottle, the 2016 Fleur de Solene is 43% Syrah, 35% Grenache, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 18 months in 30% new French oak. It’s a full-bodied yet light, elegant and complex effort that has lots of sweet black raspberry and cassis fruits, notes of spice, pepper, and game, fine tannins, and a great finish. It’s a beautiful wine any way you look at it and should cruise for 10-15 years in cold cellars.