Clos de los Siete

Michel Rolland first visited Argentina in 1988 and recognized the country's exceptional winegrowing potential, particularly in the high-altitude Uco Valley. Searching for a site to plant his own vines, he and Jean Michel Arcaute, a Pomerol grower, discovered an 850-hectare plot near Vista Flores at 1,100 meters elevation. The property was larger than either could manage alone, so Rolland invited six Bordeaux-based friends to invest alongside him. The seven founding families gave the project its name: 'Clos de los Siete,' combining the French term for an enclosed vineyard block with the Spanish word for seven. Vines were planted in 1999 and the first wine was released from the 2002 harvest. Over time, the number of active partners reduced to four, but the seven-pointed star on the label still honors the original founders.

• Michel Rolland first visited Argentina in 1988; vines planted 1999 with six Bordeaux partners
• Name: 'Clos' = enclosed vineyard block (French); 'Siete' = seven (Spanish), referencing the seven founding families
• Vista Flores, Uco Valley: elevation 1,100 m, soils of pebbles, clay, and sand over gravel beds one meter deep
• Water sourced from Andean snowmelt and glaciers; very dry climate creates low disease pressure and consistent harvests

The estate's collaborative structure is genuinely unusual: four entirely independent wineries share the 850-hectare 'campo,' each owned and operated by a Bordeaux family who makes their own wines separately while also contributing fruit to the collective Clos de los Siete blend. Bodega Monteviejo belongs to the Péré Vergé-Parent family, owners of Château Le Gay in Pomerol. Cuvelier Los Andes belongs to the Cuvelier family, who also own Château Léoville Poyferré in Saint-Julien; their 55-hectare estate is certified organic and biodynamic. DiamAndes belongs to the Bonnie family, owners of Château Malartic-Lagravière in Pessac-Léognan. Bodega Rolland is Michel Rolland's own winery, the last of the four to be built, becoming operational for the 2010 harvest. Each bodega conducts its own harvest, vinification, and individual label production independently.

• Monteviejo: Péré Vergé-Parent family, owners of Château Le Gay, Pomerol
• Cuvelier Los Andes: Cuvelier family, owners of Château Léoville Poyferré, Saint-Julien; 55 ha organic and biodynamic estate
• DiamAndes: Bonnie family, owners of Château Malartic-Lagravière, Pessac-Léognan
• Bodega Rolland: Michel Rolland's own winery, built 2009 and operational from the 2010 harvest

The Clos de los Siete vineyard sits at approximately 1,100 meters in Vista Flores, where large diurnal temperature swings slow ripening and preserve natural acidity even as fruit flavors concentrate fully. The soils are made up of pebbles, clay, and sand, with a gravel bed roughly one meter below the surface that provides excellent natural drainage and limits vine vigor. Water comes entirely from springs fed by Andean snowmelt and glaciers, delivered via drip irrigation with precise dosing. Malbec dominates, occupying more than half the estate and planted at an unusually high density of 5,500 vines per hectare, modeled on Bordeaux grand cru classé viticulture, with green harvesting, leaf removal, and strictly controlled yields. The dry climate historically results in very low disease pressure; the estate experienced hail damage only twice in over two decades of production.

• Elevation: 1,100 m in Vista Flores; large diurnal range concentrates flavors while retaining acidity
• Soils: pebbles, clay, sand surface over gravel drainage layer one meter deep; water from Andean glacial melt
• Malbec planted at 5,500 vines per hectare with double Guyot pruning and espalier training
• Dry continental climate; hail damage experienced only twice between 1999 and 2021

The Clos de los Siete wine is described as a 'blend of blends': Michel Rolland receives wines from all four bodegas and assembles the final cuvée. Malbec is always the dominant variety, consistently accounting for around 55% of the blend, supplemented by Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. The exact proportions shift with each vintage; Cabernet Franc, for example, was not included until the 2011 vintage and has grown in importance since. Grapes are harvested manually in small trays, sorted twice, and handled without pumping. The wine is aged for 11 months, with 70% in French oak barrels of varying ages (one-third new, one-third one-year-old, one-third two-year-old) and the remaining 30% in vats. The estate emphasizes that all grapes come exclusively from the Clos itself, making it a true estate wine.

• Malbec consistently around 55% of the blend; Merlot, Cab Sauv, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Cab Franc complete the assemblage
• Cabernet Franc first included in the 2011 vintage; now typically 2-5% of the blend
• Aging: 11 months, 70% French oak (mixed new and used), 30% vat; all grapes estate-grown
• Manual harvest in 15 kg trays; double sorting; gravity-flow transport to preserve fruit integrity

Since its first release in 2002, Clos de los Siete has become one of Argentina's most recognized wines and a benchmark for the country's Malbec-dominant blends. The 2020 vintage received 94 points from James Suckling and 92 points from Vinous, while Wine Enthusiast awarded 92 points to the 2018 vintage. The wine's average retail price of approximately USD 19 places it at the accessible end of the premium Argentine market, giving it an unusually strong quality-to-price reputation among critics and educators. It is consistently cited as the most searched wine from the Vista Flores appellation and is distributed internationally across multiple markets.

• 2020 vintage: 94 points James Suckling; 92 points Vinous
• 2018 vintage: 92 points Wine Enthusiast
• Average retail price approximately USD 19; cited as most searched wine from Vista Flores appellation
• Available internationally; Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits handles U.S. distribution

Clos de los Siete arrived at a pivotal moment for Argentine wine, helping demonstrate that the Uco Valley's high-altitude terroir was capable of producing internationally competitive wines. At the turn of the millennium, very few producers had planted at these elevations; Rolland's conviction helped catalyze the region's now-global reputation. The collaborative model itself, in which independent Bordeaux-linked producers share a single estate while retaining individual identity, has remained a distinctive feature of the project and an ongoing demonstration that blending across multiple cellars can produce wines of exceptional consistency and complexity. The project also helped attract further premium investment to Mendoza and gave the Vista Flores subdistrict its first major international profile.

• One of the first major projects to establish Uco Valley's viability for premium wine at 1,100 m elevation
• Helped legitimize Argentine Malbec as a serious fine wine category in international markets
• Collaborative model: four independent bodegas sharing a single estate without surrendering individual production autonomy
• Vista Flores remains the most searched sub-appellation within Uco Valley in part due to C7's global recognition