Gil Kulers’ wine pick

2007 Clos de los Siete, Mendoza, Argentina

$18

Two thumbs way up

Intoxicating aromas of chocolaty cola, with perfume-like dark berries. A full-bodied wine with a velvety texture, you can taste the meaty, chocolate, plum qualities of malbec, but also the blackberries, eucalyptus and black cherries from the other varieties.| I can’t believe I’m writing about one of “his” wines. I use this guy’s winemaking style to describe overly alcoholic, pretentious, overpriced wines that taste like blackberry jam.

Movie buffs might remember him from “Mondovino,” a 2004 documentary. Wine and food buffs may know him as the French guy who ruined many balanced, food-friendly wines.

His name? Michel Rolland.

I have tasted many of Monsieur Rolland’s wines over the years. It is the rare bottle that I have found tolerable. And furthermore, his wines are north of $50 a bottle.

But surprisingly, he made a wine I like —- a lot. It has depth, character and finesse. It is a blended wine from Argentina based on the malbec grape. What absolutely sold me was the $18 price tag.

If I could flick a crumb of criticism toward the wine —- called Clos de los Siete or Vineyard of the Seven —- it’s that it comes in at 14.5 percent alcohol, on the low side for Rolland-style wines, but still pretty high.

Michel Rolland making a wine approaching 14 percent alcohol? Perhaps it’s a harbinger of more reasonable winemaking trends to come.

Gil Kulers is a certified wine educator with the Society of Wine Educators and teaches in-home wine classes. You can reach him at gil.kulers@winekulers.com.

Note: Wines are rated on a scale ranging up from thumbs down, one thumb mostly up, one thumb up, two thumbs up, two thumbs way up and golden thumb award. Prices are suggested retail as provided by the winery, one of its agents, a local distributor or retailer.