Fidelitas, Champoux Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills

The hot 2009 vintage finally caught up with the age of this wine. Still perfectly drinkable and delicious, but the over ripe flavors are starting to take over. Drink now and enjoy!

2009 vintage

On opening very tannic and not much fruit. That smoothed out in 30 or 40 minutes and became a great dinner wine with lamb meatballs in tomato sauce. Delicious. I do not think this is a long keeper. Drink up.

2009 vintage

Complex black fruit and spice, full bodied with a long finish. Drinking beautifully right now.

2009 vintage

Wow. Velvety, full, rich.

2009 vintage

3

2009 vintage

Dark-dark purple color, aromas of dark fruit, menthol, and black olives. Full bodied flavors of blackberry-blueberry and dark chocolate, full-tilt on the front, but nothing on the back, not very balanced. Drink now.

2009 vintage

Dark purple in color, aromas of cedar box, forest floor, and spice. Very smooth, no rough edges left, blueberry and blackberry with a little earthy nuance. All-in-all a good wine, but mostly primary fruit that lacks a complexity that would make it great.

2009 vintage

It was good but I didn't get that great Champoux character out of this one. Will have to wait a year or two to drink the others.

2009 vintage

Still going very strong, PnP a bit closed, decanted for an hour and it really opened up. Plenty of life left in this, but drinking great now.

2005 vintage

This is a marvelous, minty CS in the style of the unfiltered 1960s Krug when Mondavi was making it. Very well structured and ready to drink. I think it is good for a few more years but it is perfect now. The second day left nothing to be desired. Wonderful!

2009 vintage

Blackberry, dark Raspberry and Chocolate, some acidity still present but everything is so smoothed out. Long finish, Excellent.

2005 vintage

Still dark color. First impression in the mouth is notable tannins, followed by light fruit. Good example of a Washington Cab, with nice mouth feel and body, good finish. Lacks some fruit and complex flavors, but is free from flaws. I see no reason to hold this longer since the fruit is light and VA may develop now that it is over 10 years old. It lacks leather and pencil shavings, which would have put this one up a couple …

2005 vintage

Side-by-side comparison with '09 Doubleback, which was better, but not by much. For $30 less, this wins the QPR test. Dusty tannins and black cherry flavor are salient attributes...and a saline juiciness make this very enjoyable. Appears to have plenty of life left.

2009 vintage

Day 2 was excellent. Rich and round with fully integrated barrel effects.

2009 vintage

Subtle aromatic nose, slightly sweet with cherry and red fruits, tannins are all but integrated but slightly still there. Long finish. Drinking ver well.

2005 vintage

Lots of reduction in the nose, but the palate seemed relatively unaffected. But this was not a perfect bottle by any means, so no score or notes.

2009 vintage

Had this with the Januik Champoux 2008, and both wines were disappointing, with too much sweetness in the fruit, no structure and a fair amount of oak still. Very soft in the mouth, concentrated and a full bodied palate with blackfruits. Both were OK, but were too ripe and didn't have enough acid or structure for me (B+).

2009 vintage

I like it, but I can't say I'm blown away. Maybe too early in the drinking window?

2009 vintage

Corked.

2005 vintage

A very good cab that has some herbal notes to it. It could go a year or two but it is good now.

2005 vintage

Exceedingly smooth

2009 vintage

In pretty good shape, well integrated and very drinkable.

2005 vintage

Not the equal of the 2008 vintage...indeed, not even close. Still a nice wine though. Heavy, extracted, inky, oaky, high alcohol. But, there's something about the Champoux fruit and terroir that comes through...it's ridiculously charming.

2009 vintage

Yesterday: decanted and had a quick glass with no air time. Heat on the nose, dark fruits, and oak application that seemed glaring. Seemed a tiny bit disjointed on the palate with acidity slightly out of balance, perhaps because of the alcohol. Pretty significant tannin as well. But I would really liked to have tasted this after it had been open for a while. Day 2: Seems a bit oxidized today. After getting back to drinking temperature, this has mocha …

2009 vintage

This has a big dark fruit earth nose. The flavors are spicy dark fruit, heavy on the spice with a long dry finish. It's not a "Wow, wish I had tons of this" wine, but it is a very pleasant enjoyable wine. "She" thinks it is a bit "fruit forward/sweet" "He" thinks it is a bit "dry". Don't know what "he" is talking about.. :)

2009 vintage

This wine was surprisingly uninteresting. On the first day, it was just a big, alcoholic wine, not too much going on. Lots of heat on the finish, and alcohol on the nose as well. On the second day, it was much more interesting, with hints of clove, and nutmeg on the nose. It was a full-bodied wine, with a nice dark red color, and the tannins were fairly soft. I'd be interested to hear whether or not this wine improves …

2005 vintage

Better the third day than the second day and better the second day than the first. This wine definitely needs some air to show its complexity. Nose a little muted, but nice mouthfeel and a long cocoa finish

2005 vintage

Wonderful wine for a special occasion. Very dark ruby; only the outer edge lets any light through. Full nose that made me feel like I was in the cellar surrounded by aging casks. Looong finish.

2009 vintage

This was a beautiful brick red color. Nice earthy and herbal aromas, long finish, nice mouthfeel. A little high in alcohol (which added some sweetness), but a very nice wine overall.

2005 vintage

Beautiful cassis and black fruit with tobacco and mineral notes on the nose. The palate had cassis and mountain blackberry followed by savory notes. The tannins have calmed down but this wine still has some time but worked perfectly with braised short ribs.

2005 vintage

An early bottle from this winery that is so good at their complex wine. This is labelled as 100% Cab Sav but I would swear that it has a small percentage of Cab Franc mixed in as it has that hint. This really was a lovely wine full bodied and smooth not at all acidic.I decanted the wine for two hours before drinking.

2005 vintage

The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like and Light toast.

2005 vintage

I think this was corked. Acidic, thin, slightly metallic, with light berry notes in the background. Darn! NR

2005 vintage

This is still coming along with the 100% new oak giving this wine a silky mouth feel and tons of vanilla. Great Champoux Cab, not as complex as a Sorella or QC, but a very nice wine. Paired well with Salumi at Tavolata.

2005 vintage

Happy valentines day with ribeye and great cab.

2005 vintage

When I first opened this wine I was a bit scared because the nose and palate seemed very green and a bit oaky. The decanter helped this wine develop and took the edge off the oak. (about 1.5 hours). Nose was cherry, cassis, blueberry, and a hint of spice & vanilla. The palate had tart cherry, with some pepper and a tinge of green. and a short-medium finish. Acid was nice in this and made my mouth water for the …

2005 vintage

At it's peak. Beautiful.

2005 vintage

Needed some air time, but went exceptionally well with filet mignon

2005 vintage

Fidelitas makes some great wines for a very affordable price. I've been a fan of Charlie Hoppes and his wines for 5 years now. The Champoux Vineyard cab is definitely my favorite, but this wine didn't show to it's usual potential. The appearance was deep black and purple with a nose of blueberry, cedar spice and black pepper. On the palate the wine showed black currant, pepper, tar, oak, leather and light crisp tannins. 20 second finish but it had …

2005 vintage

Very nice nose of dark fruit and some spice. Definitely on the oaky side but decanting helped smooth it out.

2005 vintage

Corked.

2005 vintage

Well balanced With corned beef and aged cheddar

2005 vintage

Rich, dense, toasty. Great Washington cab.

2005 vintage

This wine is coming along and has much upside potential over the next 6-8 years. The tannins are starting to integrate. Lavender, Vanilla, and dark fruits on the nose. Bing cherries, black berry, chocolate, mocha on the palate. Beautiful Wine!

2005 vintage

Vintage Party Blind Tasting (Todd & Melinda Knapp's House) : Very nice wine. Consistant with Champoux vineyards. Raspberry up front that blends seamlessly into velvety earthy smoke. Balanced with substantial but smooth tannins. High quality winemaking.

2005 vintage

Needs time for the oakmonster to settle down. Decanted for 3 hours. This is a very femine cab and very elegant once the oak settles down. Could use another 2 years to balance itself out. Overall a nice bottle of wine and would recommend this producer!

2005 vintage

Dinner at Godai Sushi (4 Cabs and a Pinot) (Godai Sushi, San Antonio, TX) : Nice taste of black fruit with currants and a touch of oak. Good balance and really smooth. Nice Wine!

2005 vintage

I am starting to really dislike the oak monster as my palate becomes more sensitive to nuances in wine. This to me was way over oaked!

2005 vintage

This is starting to get into a dull period to me. Had with 2 other Napa cabs. This is by far the most elegant. Could really taste the vanilla and oak on this bottle. Will benefit from cellaring.

2005 vintage

Consistant with last bottle

2005 vintage

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Fidelitas, Champoux Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills

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