Nose
The elegant blend offers amazing aromas of blackberries and plums with spicy floral notes.
Palate
Tasting the 2016 Clos de los Siete was a very pleasant surprise, further deepening our appreciation of the exceptional condi- tions offered by the wonderful Uco Valley. This atypical vintage, with its low temperatures and high rainfall, has produced a wine with intense aromatic expression and tremendous freshness on the palate.
On the palate, it is balanced and fresh with a pleasant acidity characteristic of the vintage, giving it an excellent capacity to age. Cabernet-Franc was once again included in blend and, even though it accounts for just 1%, adds an agreeable hint of spice to the palate.
Growing Conditions
2016, the year of El Niño
2016 will be remembered as one of the most difficult harvests since the launch of the Clos de los Siete project, due to the vagaries of El Niño. This weather phenomenon occurs in the southern hemisphere every four to six years and results in more rain and greater humidity than usual. The first signs came in the winter of 2015, with a significant increase in snowfall in the Andes Cordillera. We could still see snow on the mountain tops near our vines at the start of the summer. In September, late spring frosts occurred before budding, resulting in lower yields, especially for the Malbec. The spring was followed by average temperatures and substantial rainfall that continued into January and February. The weather was unusually cold during the harvest period. The 2016 harvests were among the coldest in the last thirty years, to such a degree that our area, normally a
Tasting notes:
region III in the Winkler index, was reclassified as a region II. The low temperatures, combined with decreased yields and lower rainfall in March and April enabled the vines to be maintained in good health, a fortunate situation which had seemed unlikely at the start of the season. This year also brought the shortest harvests that we have experienced. They started two weeks later than usual and ended a week early, just before the first autumn snow.
- Location: Valle de Uco; Vistaflores, Canton de Tunuyán (120 km south of Mendoza).
- Climate: Continental with low rainfall.
- Soil: Sand and clay with large pebbles.
- Altitude: 1.100 m.
- Vineyard size: 325 Ha planted out of a total 850 Ha.
- Size of parcels: 1- 3 ha.
- Planting density: 5500 vines /Ha. Pruning: Double guyot.
- Practices: Vertical training, green harvesting, leaf trimming, computer controlled drip irrigation.
Harvest
- Harvest: Manual harvesting in 15 kg trays.
- Yield: 29 hl/ha.
Winemaking
- Sorting: Manually sorted twice (before and after destemming).
- Transport: All by gravity i.e. no pumping.
- Vinification: Cold pre-fermentation maceration. Pumping over one and a half times the volume at the beginning of fermentation, half the volume at the end of fermentation.
No fining, no filtration.
Aging
11 months – 70 % in oak barrels (1/3 new French oak barrels, 1/3 in one year old barrel, 1/3 two years old); 30% in vats.
Appearance
A vibrant ruby red colour.
