Team C&J
This Winery Is Permanently Closed.
Winery Rating
Located at:
2040 Niderer Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93446
Wine Club Rating
Price Range For Tasting
The story of how Clos Solène winery and vineyard in Paso Robles was founded sounds like it could have been written in a movie studio. Guillaume and Solène Fabre created Clos Solène in 2007, but the path to doing so wasn’t easy, and it involved a mix of luck, risk, and hard work.
Guillaume comes from a multi-generational wine family in France’s Languedoc-Roussillon region. He has fond memories of helping his father in the family vineyards when he was a child. His curiosity about what happened to his father’s grapes when they were plucked from the vines and then, as if by magic, appeared in a bottle fascinated him.
Guillaume envisioned a future where he would take over the vineyard in Languedoc-Roussillon, but that plan was interrupted when the family sold the business and moved to Bourg. Around the time Guillaume was trying to devise a new path to fulfilling his dream of becoming a winemaker, he met Solene. The two instantly connected, but they were on vastly different paths.
Solene’s studies would soon take her to Spain, and Guillaume would ultimately move to California and work under the tutelage of Stephen Asseo, owner and winemaker of the highly-touted L’Aventure Winery. Despite the oceans between them, Guillaume and Solene stayed in touch. One day, Guillaume mailed Solene a ticket to Paso Robles, California, where he hoped she would accompany him so that they could build their dream winery together.
As you may have guessed, Solene accepted Guillaume’s modest proposal, and the rest is history. The couple spent years trying to find just the right property in this up-and-coming wine region, and they ultimately found the perfect 17-acre estate, which they named Clos Solène.
Clos Solène isn’t the family’s only wine project. Guillaume also owns, operates, and shares winemaking duties with his brother, Arnaud, at their ultra-low production wine label called Benom Wines. The tasting room is located in Paso Robles’ Tin City.
When you book the Elevate Estate Excursion & Tasting tour at Clos Solène, you’re getting an on-the-ground, between the vines, understanding the philosophy behind Guillaume’s decisions in the vineyard, from how the soil impacts the grapes and his planting strategies and techniques.
What’s great about the Elevated Estate Excursion wine tour is that it can be as detailed or relaxed as you want. The guides will go into extensive detail about how the frost fans are used in the vineyards to promote air circulation during spring temperature drops to prevent the grapes from freezing and how they chart bud break. If you’re a wine lover who really just wants the broad strokes of life in the vineyard, or you simply came to relax and enjoy the spectacular views from a private tour guide, this tour is great for that too.
The tour is conducted with the help of a Polaris off-road vehicle, which takes you up steep hillsides and vineyard slopes, and all the way to the top of the highest point on the property. Just an aside about this, there’s an actual yoga pad on the top of this hill, and the views from up here are just spectacular. When we visited, the skies were clear blue, the valleys were green, and the vineyard was alive with flowers and bees. It was a breathtaking scene.
As your guide takes you around the property, there will be opportunities to stop at specific vineyard blocks, ask questions (or not), and take photos. At the conclusion of the estate tour, you return to the wine-tasting lounge.
The Clos Solène wine-tasting portion of the tour takes place in a beautiful farmhouse-style tasting room outfitted in welcoming neutral colors. Four wines are featured, and we had the pleasure of sampling the below bottles.
2022 La Rose
68% Grenache, 12% Cinsault, 10% Mourvedre & 10% Grenache Gris $48
A shining example of a light, crisp, acidic rose wine. The wine sings with acidity and reminds you of why this is the perfect summer wine. The low 13.3% alcohol leaves your palate utterly refreshed. It’s simply outstanding.
2021 Hommage Blanc
80% Roussanne, 16% Viognier & 4% Grenache Blanc
Layers of peach, melon, and mouth-watering citrus create a complex but crisp Rhône blend. The most interesting facet of the Hommage Blanc is that it was aged for 5 months in 20% new French oak, 10% in an amphora sandstone tank, and 70 % neutral French oak. A very good wine worth trying.
2020 Fleur de Solene
52% Syrah, 25% Grenache & 23% Cab Sauv
A wine whose blend changes each vintage, the 2020 Fleur de Solene has a silky palate ripe with dark fruit, potting soil/earth, and smoke. This wine in the Clos Solène portfolio is designed to be enjoyed right when it is released; no cellaring is necessary. Not our favorite in the group, but still a good wine.
2020 Harmonie
72% Grenache, 14% Syrah & 14% Mourvedre
A Châteauneuf du Pape blend with slightly chewy tannins, moderate acid, and notes of dark cherry and plum, black pepper, and noticeable smokiness. Overall, an enjoyable wine for a weeknight.
2020 Hommage a nos Pairs Reserve
96% Syrah, 2% Viognier & 2% Grenache All Co-Fermented.
When you try the Hommage a nos Pairs Reserve, you immediately understand why this is Clos Solène’s flagship wine. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this wine is incredible. Outstanding. We loved this wine.
The Syrah, Viognier, and Grenache are all co-fermented in 60% French new oak and 40% once-used oak. The palate is filled with lush dark fruit. The finish is long and balanced. As the name implies, this bottling is an homage to Guillaume’s mentors. A spectacular wine.
Anytime is a good time to visit Clos Solène. We happened to visit during bud break, and the vines were just starting to burst with spring leaves. This is a winery that gets a lot of traffic through word-of-mouth; when you visit and taste the wines, you will see what we mean. For that reason, we recommend you make a tasting reservation at Clos Solène before you visit.
To sum up our extraordinary experience at Paso Robles’ Clos Solène, every wine we tried was absolutely wonderful, and several were outstanding. This is easily one of the best wine-tasting experiences in Paso Robles.
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