Bigger Than A House - Clos de Los Siete

Clos de Los Siete by Michel Rolland
[£10.99, or buy two save £2, Majestic]

A WINE bigger than a house (left) made by the infamous bearded French wine consultant featured in Mondovino, but bearing little actual relation to anything before seen from Mendoza, Argentina. If you've not encountered him before, see 'Who Is Michel Rolland?' in the 'The Wine Cellar' blog.

This is nonetheless a gutsy, jammy, full, rounded experience with dark chocolate, vanilla ice cream, slightly scorched earthy notes and hefty tannins so chewy a sharpened steak knife is required to carve through them. It also feels slightly sweet, no doubt in part due to the 15%+ abv. Beaming, pleased (and trying hard to please) and entirely American tasting.

The empty bottle alone weighs over 650g, the theory being the heavier the vial, the larger the winemaker's ambition.

40% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 20% Syrah, I foolishly emptied most of the bottle into myself in one night and then woke up in pain and with red eyes. Liquid prose aside, wine does after all lead to drunkeness and all the associated unsavoury things and so take your time with this - like all the 'better' wines, it's deceptively easy to drink.