March 9, 2022 - Dark berry, mint and green pepper nose. Medium to full bodied fruit, moderate tannins and sufficient acidity to create a very well balanced mouth feel. Lengthy smooth finish.
October 23, 2021 - As my note of May 2021. Deep colour and fragrant nose with good fruit. Perhaps some nice hints of eucalyptus as it opened. Black cherry fruit with fragrance and spice on the palate with attractive, slightly leathery soft tannins. Good balance and length. I think this vintage still has a future but, sadly, this was our last bottle. I hope my more recent vintages develop like this one and offer as much pleasure.
It got better over a few hours. My wife, who has a fine palate, loved it. One of the few red wines she really enjoys without food. Exceptional wine.
October 9, 2021 - Dark fruit nose of blackberry and plum creates a soft mouth feel on the palate with the acidity and tannins integrating well. Livelier than the 2008 and fresher it delivers a smoother experience.
June 23, 2019 - Deep garnet it in color. Nose of stewed cherries, leather, and earth. Tastes of cherries, tobacco, and menthol. Astringent on days one and two but opened up nicely on day three and four. They structure a good balance. Well age for another 5 to 7 years.
May 30, 2019 - Still a deep colour - good extraction. Opened 6h prior. Good nose. Lots of black cherry fruit with fragrance and spice on the nose and palate. The leathery tannins have softened over the last few years but are still a feature (and make the wine good with food). Quite fragrant, spicy, and long. Worth cellaring to this point and probably for a few years yet. I haven't yet had a Clos that I felt was too old.
February 2, 2019 - Still a deep, opaque colour. 3h after decanting, the wine was very soft and smooth with rich, mainly cherry and sweet dark plum fruit. Perhaps a touch of spice. Restrained acidity and soft tannins now - very enjoyable.
Good with rare steak ca. 4h after decanting by which time the nose was rich and fragrant.
Note added in March 2019. Still drinking very well indeed. Excellent after standing for 8h after double-decanting. Very rich, soft fruit with spice, complexity, balance, and length.
July 12, 2018 - What a lovely wine this has been for 5 or 6 years of drinking.
May 7, 2018 - Nice wine with flavors of dark fruit, spice and mild oak.
April 2, 2018 - Getting even better with time Deep colour - still opaque. Spice and dark plums on the nose. Opened 4 hours early and, after 20 minutes more in the glass, it showed dark cherry and damsons on the rich, evolving palate. Smooth and deep, as before, with complex, dark fruit flavours continuing to develop. Good acidity, but nicely integrated. Soft, leathery spicy tannins underpinned the fruit but were very well integrated. Smooth, and with great length.
The 'luxury' vanillic character and rich, complex fruit are reminiscent of some of the better, mature Penfold's wines to me (even though the grapes differ).
It will last quite a while, yet. As with most vintages of Clos de los Siete, it is much better after longer cellaring. On savouring this wine with food and on its own later, I have raised my score a point.
February 8, 2018 - In the bouquet dark berries, some smoke and graphite. On the palate juicy dark fruits, good acidity, still tannin with a good grip. Not extremely refined or exclusive, but a mouth full of good wine. Can easily last a few more years.