Prefer the old site?Launch →

Clos de los Siete

This huge and ambitious project, a partnership between Michel Rolland and six French vineyard owners (the late Jean-Michel Arcaute was Rolland's original partner in the venture), covers 850 hectares of land at the foot of the Andes in Vistaflores, in the Uco Valley, about a 90-minute drive south from the city of Mendoza.The property enjoys a gentle slope away from the mountains, with the altitude ranging from about 3,200 feet to nearly 4,000 feet.Planting of vines began in 1999 (400 hectares are now under vine) and continues today.Fully half of the acreage is devoted to malbec and another 30% to merlot; there is also cabernet sauvignon, syrah and bits of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.The soils here, largely mountain deposits of sandy loam with some clay, are fairly rich in minerals and do not have the salinity problems of heavier soils farther from the Andes, at lower altitude.The first partner to build a winery was Catherine Pere-Verge (Monteviejo), who purchased Chateau Le Gay in Pomerol in 2002, followed by Laurent Dassault (Flecha de los Andes).A winery is currently being built by Bernard Cuvelier (Altamira).It remains to be seen whether there will be any additional wineries and what the ultimate shape of the venture will be.I tasted the various Clos de los Siete wines, as well as a few others made by Michel Rolland, at the spectacular multi-leveled Monteviejo winery, where Madame Pere-Verge has a 7,000 square foot abode at the top of the winery.At Monteviejo, the fruit is destemmed and sorted by hand, and the wines are made almost entirely by gravity.Under the direction of enologist Rolland, most of these wines spend a good 35 to 40 days on their skins, including extended post-fermentation maceration.The various owners shoot for yields in the moderate 35 to 45 hectoliters-per-hectare range, picking very ripe fruit with potential alcohol typically between 14% and 15%.No acidification is done, and pHs tend to be in the high 3.8 to 3.9 range.These are big, broad, classically dry wines built for aging-quite different from most other wines from Argentina today.(Importers for the Clos de los Siete bottling include Classic Wines, Brookline MA, House of Burgundy, New York, NY and Grantham Distributing, Orlando, FL)

From Focus on Argentina (Nov 2005) by Stephen Tanzer

Reviews

Wines

Sort by default

2004 Chardonnay Lindaflor Valle de Uco

Color: White

2003 Clos de Los Siete Mendoza

Release Price: $17

Color: Red

Subscriber Access Only

You'll Find The Article Name Here

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

2004 Clos de Los Siete Mendoza

Release Price: $17

Color: Red

Subscriber Access Only

You'll Find The Article Name Here

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

2003 Petite Fleur Valle de Uco Mendoza

Color: Red

Subscriber Access Only

You'll Find The Article Name Here

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Clos de los Siete

2004 Chardonnay Lindaflor Valle de Uco

2003 Coleccion Blend Mendoza

2003 Lindaflor Malbec Valle de Uco Mendoza

2004 Lindaflor Malbec Valle de Uco Mendoza

2002 Petite Fleur Valle de Uco Mendoza

2004 Gran Corte

2004 Grand Vin Blend Mendoza

2004 Coleccion Blend Mendoza

2002 Lindaflor Malbec Valle de Uco Mendoza

2002 Clos de Los Siete Mendoza

2003 Clos de Los Siete Mendoza

2004 Clos de Los Siete Mendoza

2003 Petite Fleur Valle de Uco Mendoza

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social