Golfo 7, Lot 2004

What an amazingly unique wine! At first you might consider this wine to be merely a stunt, but when you look more deeply into this wine, you realize it is very serious.

The Golfo 7 is is the first wine made from a unique joint venture. Seven top wine-makers worked together to create this wine, six from Spain and one from France. Each wine maker contributed a different varietal, all from different regions. 7 wine makers, 7 varietals, 7 regions.

This is the breakdown of the winemaker/winery, varietal and region:

Pascal Delbeck, Merlot from St. Emilion

Angel Anocibar, Petit Verdot from Abadia Retuerta

Ada Winery, Garnacha from Navarra

Viña Izadi, Graciano from Rioja

Joaquin Galvez, Cabernet Franc from Alicante

Oscar Aragon, Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero

Magaña, Syrah from Duraton

What is the composition of the blend? 50% of the wine is a blend, in equal proportions, of each of the seven varietals. The other 50% is a blend that is assembled and voted upon by all of the contributing winemakers. The wine was aged in oak for one year, fined with egg whites and bottled unfiltered. It has an alcohol content of 14.5%. The wine is officially a "Vino de Mesa" and as such, is not legally permitted to place a vintage on its label. But all of the grapes did come from the 2004 harvest so they placed "L.2004" (Lot 2004) on the label. Only 155 cases of this wine were made.

Interestingly enough, some of the proceeds from this wine will be contributed to the construction of a winery in Mozambique, Africa.

I first tasted the Golfo 7, Lot 2004 ($65) at a local wine tasting and was very impressed with it. I bought a couple of bottles and decided to open one bottle this evening. A potentially historic Patriot's football game is taking place this evening so I wanted something good to drink while watching the game.

This wine is inky dark in color and the nose is vibrant with cinnamon and dark berry notes. On the palate, the wine is lush with ripe blackberries, blueberries and black cherry. There are also elements of smoke, dark spice, and vanilla. Plus a few tastes I could not identify. It is a complex wine with flavors that flit back and forth, though all meshing into a well-balanced mix. The tannins are prominent but not overpowering. It has a very long and lingering finish that makes you desire even more. A very impressive wine that I would highly recommend, despite the price. We finished the entire bottle and I was tempted to open my other bottle.

I should note that the joint venture is making a Golfo 8, Lot 2005. I will be eagerly looking forward to tasting that as well.