2015 Clos Solene Hommage A Nos Pairs Reserve
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The finest wine to date from this estate is unquestionably the 2015 Hommage A Nos Pairs Reserve, which is always mostly Syrah co-fermented with a small amount of Grenache and Viognier (5% in total) that’s aged in 300- to 400-liter barrels. This beauty boasts a deep, inky color as well as incredible notes of blackberries, smoked earth, charred meats, and lead pencil shavings. It continues to change in the glass and shows more pepper and meatiness with air. Deep, full-bodied and powerful it carries serious amounts of fruit and texture yet stays balanced, layered, and elegant, with its fabulous purity of fruit always front and center. Drink this brilliant Paso Robles Syrah any time over the coming 10-15 years. 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.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A blend of 95% Syrah, 3% Grenache and 2% Viognier, the 2015 Hommage à nos Pairs Reserve opens in the glass with notes of black cherry, cassis, blackberries and bay leaf, framed by a light touch of new oak that's already nicely integrated. On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a taut, layered core, an ample chassis of rich, chalky tannins and a long, youthfully chewy finish. This will reward a few years of patience and should enjoy 10-15 years of longevity.
(70% new oak) Youthful purple. Highly fragrant blackberry, boysenberry, floral pastille and Asian spice scents show excellent clarity and pick up a smoky oak quality with air. Deeply concentrated but shockingly lithe dark berry preserve, vanilla and spicecake flavors reach every corner of the palate and betray no rough edges. Candied violet and cola qualities emerge on an extremely long, focused, subtly tannic finish that emphatically echoes the blue fruit and spice notes.
The Syrah heavy cuvée is the 2015 Hommage A Nos Pairs, and it incorporates 3% Grenache and 2% Viognier in 2015. Its saturated purple color is followed by full-bodied notes of crème de cassis, melted licorice, vanilla bean and toasted spices. Deep, rich, concentrated and yet also elegant and balanced, it's still resting in barrel, but is packed with potential! I suspect it will be up with the top wines of the vintage. One of the top talents in Paso Robles (which is packed with talent) is unquestionably Guillaume Fabre, who worked at l’Aventure for several years while building his own label, Clos Solene. Guillaume is the talent behind the wines of a number of estate, including Benom (a project with his Brother), Pharaoh Moans and Al Lago, all reviewed in this report. These are quintessential California wines that has incredible textures and purity. Count me as a fan.