Cabernet Sauvignon
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 5–15 years from the vintage release, allowing the intense Red Mountain tannins to soften and integrate.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted rosemary lamb chops, aged cheddar cheese
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Fidelitas, translating to 'faithfulness' in Latin, represents winemaker Charlie Hoppes's dedicated alliance with the distinct terroir of Washington State's Red Mountain AVA. This Cabernet Sauvignon showcases the dramatic character of one of the Pacific Northwest's warmest and smallest appellations. Formed by the cataclysmic prehistoric Missoula Floods, the region's gravelly, sweepingly sloped soils are rich in calcium carbonate, forcing the vines to dig deep for nutrients. The intense desert sun of Red Mountain produces small, thick-skinned berries with concentrated sugars and robust tannins, while the cool night winds sweeping down from the north preserve a vibrant natural acidity. Fidelitas crafts this Cabernet to capture this powerful tension, utilizing meticulous oak aging to refine the bold, dark-fruit structure into a sophisticated, age-worthy masterpiece.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Established in 2000 by acclaimed winemaker Charlie Hoppes, Fidelitas is a premier boutique winery deeply rooted in the Red Mountain AVA of Washington State. With a steadfast focus on crafting exceptional Bordeaux-style blends and single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons, the winery sources grapes from some of the region's most prestigious vineyards, including Champoux, Ciel du Cheval, and Quintessence, alongside their own estate plantings. Fidelitas is renowned for its modern, precise winemaking techniques, utilizing carefully selected French and American oak barrels to shape wines of remarkable concentration, structure, and aging potential. Under Hoppes' expert guidance, the estate has become a benchmark producer for Red Mountain, capturing the unique, sun-drenched terroir in every bottle of their signature Optu Red and site-specific Cabernet Sauvignon expressions.