Clos des Amis - California
Bruce Freeman outside his adobe wine cellar at his winery at South Mountain, Ventura County California.
Clos des Amis (pronounced clo desamee) which means circle of friends in French is the passion project (and livelihood!) of long time Ventura County California winemaker, Bruce Freeman and Gretel Meys Compton. They are farmer artisans, literally, as they both are artists and they farm all of their grapes, all vineyards exclusively in Ventura County.
Bruce, whose mother is French, started to make wine in 1994 in Ventura County, and is a firm believer of the potential of Ventura County terroir, an undiscovered wine region in /California.
In 2011 Bruce, with Gretel’s help, officially launched Clos des Amis winery. Their focus is on making new world wines in an old world style from Ventura County vineyards, most which come from the winery’s own South Mountain Vineyards in Santa Paula. Their wine is literally a labor of love in a glass!
Their vineyards are in the Santa Clara River Valley, known for its unique micro climate and agriculture. The South Mountain Vineyards are at a higher altitude overlooking the valley with limestone and diatomaceous soil, with evidence of sea life fossils, as it was underwater many years ago. This gives their wines great minerality which balances nicely with the neutral oak aging that most of their wines go through.
A view of the Clos des Amis vineyards
Winemakers Gretel and Bruce
What People Are Saying
Wine and food journalist’s review of Clos des Amis White Wine
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Located in Southern California, estate winery Clos des Amis uses French varieties to create New World wines in the Old World style. These are single vineyard selections, a Chardonnay, Malbec and a Zinfandel, from vineyards Clos des Amis’ own vineyards or vineyards they manage, are elegant and express Ventura county terroir. See for yourself! Shipping is included for the Continental US with this set as well as with additional wines added in.
Included in this box are:
From Southern California, winery Clos des Amis brings us this delicious, fruit forward California Sangiovese.
Think sipping on a wild strawberry black tea… but in a wine glass. Fresh wild strawberries take center stage, so sweet and juicy it's like biting into summer. Then, these delicate floral notes come through. This is a wine for kicking back and enjoying the good stuff. Perfect for a summer night with friends, a lighter dinner, or just because. Chill it a bit, to enjoy a different dimension of this wine.
This wine from Clos des Amis in Southern California is a Rhone style blend in the old world style, but made by a new world winery. Winemaker Bruce Freeman is of French origin, and his inspiration for this GSM red wine blend comes just from those roots.
This blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre is a bold red wine, and great for people that search for those flavors. Grown in the Ventura County area of Southern California, the vineyards have a large diurnal influence with a big temperature range. This, along with cooling winds from the nearby Pacific Ocean create balanced grapes that lend well to this structured red wine.
This California Zin is not like the others. A different take, it has the expected plums and fruits, but is not a fruit bomb like a lot of other zinfandel wines; rather it is balanced and complex. As said on the back label, ‘This Zin is so alive, we call it a Zing!Fandel.’
Made from 30 year old vines in the Upper Ojai Valley in California, the single vineyard these grapes come from is known as ‘Block F’. This terroir driven Zinfandel is made with native yeast fermentation and using carbonic maceration.
An unoaked red wine, this California zinfandel is a great way to taste something new and different!
From their own South Mountain vineyard, this Pinot Noir has inviting notes of prune and a bit of leather and when tasting it has a nice balance of acidity and smoothness.
From an Upper Ojai vineyard, this Grenache has aromas of roses and blueberry. The acidity and subtle tannins give it the perfect amount of structure resulting an a nicely balanced wine.
From their own South Mountain Vineyard, this is an inviting Malbec with intriguing tea leave aromas and approachable tannins. Great with steak, a hamburger and lamb.
Bruit, juicy fruit on this un-oaked chardonnay from Ventura County in Southern California.
This rosé from boutique Southern California winery Clos des Amis is a super-limited production dry rosé wine. Its taste is fresh, minerally with soft chalky tannins with a lovely smooth mouthfeel.
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Clos des Amis is in Ventura County California, just north of Los Angeles.
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