Clos de los Siete, take six

'It is already the sixth vintage from Clos de Los Siete', says Michel Rolland, the famous consulting winemaker who has worked with Bordeaux-based Dourthe to produce this new (now not so new) wine from Mendoza.

The larger project of which Los Siete is a part is called 'Campo de Vista Flores'. A large area of 850 hectares, 90 km south of Mendoza city and previously unplanted, was divided into seven plots - one for each of the main partners (there are now just six - one left). The land had to be prepared and then planted. With a high planting density (5500 vines/hectare) the vineyards are managed like a Bordeaux first growth, with double guyot pruning, vertical canopies, crop thinning, leaf removal, hand-picking into small crates and triage on a sorting table. Then, in the winery there's a cold pre-fermentation maceration, pumping over during fermentation and maturation in new French oak (2/3) and vat (1/3).

Altogether, 430 hectares of the 850 are now planted. The altitude is 1100 metres and the soils are sand and clay, with large pebbles. Yields average 34 hl/ha, which is quite low. And here is my note on the just-released 2007 vintage.

Clos de los Siete 2007 Mendoza, Argentina
A blend of 48% Malbec, 28% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Syrah, harvested from the end of March until the end of April. Deep coloured, this has lovely floral aromatics together with ripe but not jammy summer fruit aromas. There's a bit of spice, too. The palate is nicely poised with sweet but well defined dark fruits and good acidity. This isn't jammy or super-ripe, which is a good thing. But the alcohol (14.5%) is evident, and the tannins are a little drying and grippy in the mouth, and they clamp down the finish somewhat. It's a beautifully packaged wine that offers great value for money, and without those rather drying tannins it would get a higher rating. 90/100 (£10.99 Waitrose, Majestic, Oddbins)