Clos de los Siete

Michel Rolland first went to Argentina in 1988. After searching for a while, he and Jean Michel Arcaute, a winegrower from Pomerol, found a plot about 100 kilometers south of Mendoza at an altitude of 1,100 meters, with soils of pebbles, clay and sand. The two originators were joined by friends who were also winegrowers, and together they set out to produce one single wine under Michel Rolland's supervision. The Rollands divided the land into seven parcels, with a potential investor in mind for each, and the project was set up in 1999. Of the original partners, the d'Aulan family later dropped out. Four bodegas were built on the estate: Monteviejo, Cuvelier Los Andes, DiamAndes and Bodega Rolland. A part of each one's production goes into the shared Clos de los Siete wine, and the rest goes into its own range. The first Clos de los Siete was produced in 2002.

• Originators: Michel Rolland and Jean Michel Arcaute, a winegrower from Pomerol
• Project set up in 1999; first Clos de los Siete produced in 2002
• Four bodegas, each run by a Bordeaux family: Monteviejo, Cuvelier Los Andes, DiamAndes and Bodega Rolland

Catherine Péré Vergé acquired Château Montviel in Pomerol in 1985 and later added other châteaux, among them La Violette and Le Gay. In 1998, at Michel Rolland's invitation, she took part in creating Clos de los Siete and founded her own bodega, Monteviejo, which was the first of the project's wineries to be completed. Her daughter Helene Parent and granddaughter Elise Treiber now lead Monteviejo. In 1998 Michel Rolland, then consulting oenologist at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, owned by the Cuvelier family for more than a century, offered Bertrand and Jean-Guy Cuvelier the chance to invest in his Andean project, and they launched Cuvelier Los Andes; Baptiste Cuvelier has led it since 2009. DiamAndes is run by the Bonnie family, owners of Château Malartic-Lagravière in Pessac-Léognan, who bought it in 2005. In 2013 DiamAndes covered 130 hectares, and its winery was designed by the Argentine architects Bórmida & Yanzón. Bodega Rolland, in which the oenologist Dany Rolland is a partner, was the last to be built, in time to vinify the 2010 harvest; its own estate cuvée is Mariflor, from its highest parcel, facing the Cordillera.

• Monteviejo: founded by Catherine Péré Vergé as her own bodega; led by Helene Parent and Elise Treiber
• Cuvelier Los Andes: launched by Bertrand and Jean-Guy Cuvelier; Baptiste Cuvelier in charge since 2009
• DiamAndes: Bonnie family of Château Malartic-Lagravière, owners since 2005
• Bodega Rolland: Dany Rolland a partner; the last bodega built, for the 2010 harvest

The Clos de los Siete wine was blended by Michel Rolland, the originator of the project. At Bodega Rolland, the oenologist Dany Rolland is a partner; Stéphanie Rolland manages all the family businesses, including in Argentina; Marie Rolland handles design and image; and the oenologists Magdalena and Rodolfo Vallebella direct the bodega in Argentina. At Cuvelier Los Andes, Baptiste Cuvelier is President and CEO, and Adrián Manchón is head winemaker and general manager. Helene Parent and Elise Treiber lead Monteviejo.

• Dany Rolland: oenologist and partner in Bodega Rolland
• Magdalena and Rodolfo Vallebella: oenologists directing Bodega Rolland in Argentina
• Baptiste Cuvelier: President and CEO, Cuvelier Los Andes
• Adrián Manchón: head winemaker and general manager, Cuvelier Los Andes

The estate lies in Vista Flores, in the canton of Tunuyán in the Uco Valley, at 1,100 meters. Its soils of pebbles, clay and sand sit over a bed of gravel one meter down, which provides natural drainage, and water comes from springs fed by melting snow and glaciers in the Andes. The weather is very dry, with widely varying temperatures between day and night, and the vines are oriented south to south-west. Of the 850 hectares, 350 were planted at the time of the 2003 harvest, 240 of them in production, and 325 at the time of the 2019 harvest. Malbec occupies more than half the estate and is planted at 5,500 vines per hectare, alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and a little less Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The vines are double Guyot pruned, espalier trained and drip irrigated, and are worked in plots of 1 to 3 hectares with green harvesting, leaf removal and strictly controlled yields. Jean-Michel Arcaute recalled that the work at Vista Flores involved 'massive earthworks to clear the rock away, fill the fissures dug out by running rainwater and build 10 kilometers (over 6 miles) of levee to protect the vines from flooding during the rare, but diluvial rainstorms.'

• Altitude 1,100 m; soils of pebbles, clay and sand over a bed of gravel one meter down
• Water from springs fed by melting snow and glaciers in the Andes; drip irrigation
• Malbec on more than half the estate at 5,500 vines per hectare
• Double Guyot pruning, espalier training, plots of 1 to 3 hectares

Clos de los Siete is made only from fruit grown on the Clos, harvested by hand. For the 2019 vintage, the grapes were harvested into 15 kg trays, sorted by hand twice, before and after destemming, and moved entirely by gravity with no pumping. Vinification began with a cold pre-fermentation maceration, and the wine was matured for 11 months, 70% in oak barrels (one-third new French oak barrels, one-third one year old and one-third two years old) and 30% in vats, with no fining and no filtration. The 2019 yield was 49 hl/ha, and the blend is 50% Malbec, 24% Merlot, 11% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The 2003 Clos de los Siete was 50% Malbec, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah, from yields of 30 hl/ha, matured for 10 months with one-third in vat and two-thirds in 100% new French oak barrels.

• 2019: hand harvest in 15 kg trays, sorted twice, moved by gravity with no pumping
• 2019: 11 months, 70% in oak barrels and 30% in vats; no fining, no filtration
• 2019 blend: 50% Malbec, 24% Merlot, 11% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot
• 2003 blend: 50% Malbec, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah

Clos de los Siete is the single shared wine of the estate. Each bodega also makes wines under its own name. Monteviejo's ranges are La Violeta, Lindaflor, Petite Fleur and Festivo. The Cuvelier Los Andes Grand Vin is a blend led by Malbec and completed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot in proportions that change each vintage. Bodega Rolland's wines are Clos de los Siete, Mariflor and Val de Flores; Val de Flores comes from a small vineyard of Malbec vines more than 80 years old in Vista Flores.

• Monteviejo: La Violeta, Lindaflor, Petite Fleur, Festivo
• Cuvelier Los Andes: Grand Vin, a Malbec-led blend
• Bodega Rolland: Mariflor and Val de Flores

Clos de los Siete says its vines are cultivated 'with all the care of a great Bordeaux estate with manual pruning and canopy management, and controlled yields.' Of the 2019 vintage, Michel Rolland wrote that the dry, cool weather 'enabled a good concentration of tannins as well as a pleasant acidity.' Cuvelier Los Andes sets out to apply the techniques of the Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés in the Uco Valley and to make wines 'con un estilo muy bordelés' (in a very Bordeaux style).

Primary source (producer's own site and technical sheets): https://www.closdelossiete.com/; https://www.closdelossiete.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CDL7_2019_EN.pdf; https://www.closdelossiete.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/CDL7_2003_EN_2.pdf. Member bodegas' own sites: Monteviejo: https://monteviejo.com.ar/pages/nuestra-historia; https://monteviejo.com.ar/pages/terrior. Cuvelier Los Andes: http://www.cuvelierlosandes.com/public/familia; http://www.cuvelierlosandes.com/public/vinedo-y-vinificacion; http://www.cuvelierlosandes.com/vinos/grand-vin. Bodega Rolland: https://www.bodegarolland.com/la-aventura-argentina/; https://www.bodegarolland.com/nosotros/. Secondary sources: Decanter: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/third-clos-de-los-siete-winery-opened-94853/; https://www.decanter.com/features/producer-profile-chateau-malartic-lagraviere-245527/2/; https://www.decanter.com/features/producers-of-argentine-the-fab-four-248183/. The Drinks Business: https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/12/argentina-in-pictures-mendoza/5/. Wine Spectator: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/two-rising-stars-and-a-vineyard-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-15453. Last verified 2026-10-21. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.