Fidelitas Wines

2015 Red Heaven Cabernet Sauvignon - Limited Release Wines

On one of the most classic spring mornings I ventured up the Red Heaven Vineyard and strolled through the vines enjoying the morning light and dreaming of sipping this amazing Cabernet in a few short weeks. Charlie continues to hand craft each wine from the vineyard to the bottle and one of his favorite most diverse sites to work with is the Red Heaven Vineyard. Perched on the slope of Red Mountain, provides us with Clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon for this limited-edition wine. This is one special Cabernet, Charlie only chooses to source from this vineyard when the fruit is the most exceptional.

 

This beauty is a full varietal Cabernet Sauvignon and sees about 83% New French Oak, he’s also fermenting this wine in 100% Wood using 66% 500L Roller Barrel, 34% Oak Upright Barrel. We’ve only produced 144 cases and expect this wine to be gone in the blink of an eye. To get on the wait-list or to pre-order please contact our Club Team!

Charlie is Named as the 2018 Honorary Vintner for the Auction of Washington Wines

Fidelitas Owner + Winemaker, Charlie Hoppes, named

2018 Honorary Vintner

by the Auction of Washington Wines

 

As Charlie marks 30 years of making wine in Washington, we are thrilled to announce that he has been named the Honorary Vintner by his industry peers for the 2018 Auction of Washington Wines.

 

This recognition is reserved for people who have exemplified leadership in the industry, and for those who have made significant contributions to the Washington wine community. Charlie shares this honor with the Honorary Grower, Marshall Edwards, who manages Quintessence Vineyard, a favored site for Fidelitas on Red Mountain.

 

“Charlie and Marshall both reflect what makes the Washington wine community so special,” said Shelley Tomberg, Executive Director of AWW. “Their sincerity in building relationships is inspiring, and it results in top-notch, innovative, premium Washington wines that influence the industry on a global scale.”

 

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We look forward to celebrating Charlie, while supporting the mission of the Auction of Washington Wines, at events coming up this spring and summer on Red Mountain and in Woodinville: LEARN MORE

 

Read more about Charlie's history of Washington winemaking.

Quintessence Vineyard

With 3 different releases coming out of one of our favorite vineyard sites next month I wanted to look at the history of our relationship with Quintessence vineyard and what makes their site so special.

History

Quintessence is a young site with the first phase of planting taking place in 2010.  The first fruit we pulled from this initial phase was cabernet in 2012 which blew us away with the quality for such young vines.  So much so, that we decided to blend the clones 169 and 191 Cab into a single vineyard Cabernet, and our Optu Red Mountain for that same year was 47% sourced from Quintessence.  This was the beginning of a love affair – since then we’ve made 3 more single vineyard cabs (always sourced from those same French ENTAV clones), 2 single vineyard sauv blancs, a new single vineyard malbec, and likely more vineyard designated wines to come.

Slope

While the general slope of Red Mountain gently angles to the Southwest, Quintessence is slightly more Southeastern facing right into the teeth of the morning sun.  This early morning heat and rocky top layer that retains and reflects that solar energy is why I think Quintessence is consistently one of the first sites to ripen in the AVA and results in extremely concentrated wines across the board.

Management

An incredible vineyard site can only take you so far if it's not placed in the right hands.  Luckily Quintessence has Marshall Edwards to look after it, who like my dad, has over 3 decades of experience managing some of the best vineyards in Washington to draw on.  It's great that the two of them have known each other for so long too, because Marshall enjoys harassing my dad: last time we were there for harvest a couple days before the first pick he told him that "all of the work was done - now don't mess things up."

One of the most unique aspects of Quintessence is all the different clones of Cabernet that are planted there: go wild and explore their interactive map.  In one block you can taste the sweet, bright, red fruit, large clone 8 clusters and walk 10 yards to another block and taste the lower yielding ENTAV clones where the taste of the thick skins and seeds is much more present and the fruit tone darker.

Harvest 2017 - making sure Marshall hadn't messed anything up

Quintessence Clone 8 Cab

Barrel Tasting

Often the winemaking team isn't sure what wines are going to be released for the upcoming year until they go through and taste all of the finished wine in barrel and see if anything jumps out at them.  This is where we get small production releases such as Canyons Malbec, Ciel du Cheval Petit Verdot, Old Vines Merlot, and the upcoming April release Quintessence Malbec which will likely never make it to the tasting bar for long.  

Tasting 2016 Quintessence Cab

More Information

http://www.quintessencevineyards.com/about.php

http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2017/05/09/marshall-edwards-grows-some-of-washingtons-top-wines/

http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2014/07/16/marshall-edwards-stands-behind-some-of-largest-washington-vineyards/

 

Exclusive New Releases

And just like that, we are already half way through spring club season! This spring we had/have some amazing releases in store. A few that definitely stick out and really fit the term “limited release” are listed below. Some of these wines never even make it to our tasting bar! We do wish that everyone could get their hands on these exclusive wines but, that’s what makes them so exclusive. To get on the wait-list or to pre-order please contact our Club team!

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2017 Quintessence Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc - 50 cases produced

pre-order

2015 Blackwood Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon - 168 cases produced (sold out prior to release!)

wait-list

2015 Red Heaven Cabernet Sauvignon - 144 cases produced (sold out prior to release!)

wait-list

2015 Quintessence Vineyard Malbec - 168 cases produced 

pre-order

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After making way through our Wine Club, we do have two new releases that have found their way to our tasting lineup. Come in to get your taste of some Fidelitas favorites!

2015 Optu Red Mountain

order

2015 Red Mountain Merlot

order