Why it matters
The producer
Bodega Séptima sits in Agrelo, in the Luján de Cuyo district of Mendoza, at 1,050 metres in the Andean foothills. It was founded in 2001 as the seventh winery in the portfolio of Raventós Codorníu, a Spanish group with more than 470 years of winemaking history, and the name follows directly from that count. The seventh house was placed not in Spain but in Argentina, in a high-altitude sub-zone the group had not previously farmed.
The winery produces three million bottles a year and covers 5,500 square metres of production space. Gran Reserva is a three-grape blend assembled from close to one hundred separate microvinification lots drawn from multiple Mendoza zones. The production approach uses minimal intervention across more than fifty experimental variations before final assemblage. The building itself is a statement: designed by the Bórmida and Yanzón studio, it draws on the pre-Hispanic pirca construction method of the Huarpes people, with blind stone walls that regulate internal temperature against Mendoza's extreme daily swings.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Agrelo is one of the cooler and higher sub-zones within Luján de Cuyo, the Mendoza district that sits on the eastern slope of the Andes roughly 1,000 metres above the valley floor. The elevation matters for the wines in a specific way: the diurnal temperature swing at 1,050 metres is more pronounced than at lower Mendoza sites, with hot afternoons dropping sharply once the sun clears the peaks. That swing slows ripening, preserves acidity, and allows grapes to accumulate aromatic compounds over a longer growing season without losing freshness.
For the Gran Reserva, the sourcing extends beyond Agrelo into other Mendoza zones at varying altitudes, building a layered profile that no single-vineyard parcel could produce on its own. The wine is 15% ABV and reads aromatic and full rather than flat or alcoholic, because the fruit components carry acidity from altitude rather than heat-softened sweetness.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The Gran Reserva begins with microvinification. The winemaking team works through more than fifty separate fermentation variations before selecting and blending close to one hundred individual lots from multiple Mendoza zones. The grapes are Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat, sourced at varying ripeness levels from sites at different altitudes across the appellation. This multi-zone sourcing is what gives the blend its aromatic layering: components from higher, cooler sites contribute acidity and perfume; components from warmer zones add body and colour depth.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range runs across three tiers, each defined by grape sourcing and cellar commitment.
Obra is the entry-level label, designed for early drinking. It carries Malbec as the primary grape and is priced for accessibility. The cellar treatment is lighter than the Gran Reserva; Obra is the way into the producer for a new buyer without committing to the long-aged flagship tier.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Gran Reserva is the bottle. It is a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat blend drawn from close to one hundred microvinification lots across Mendoza, aged 30 months before release. The wine gives a complete picture of what Séptima is doing: multi-zone sourcing at altitude, a three-wood oak programme, and a blending philosophy that trades the clarity of single-parcel wine for deliberate layered complexity. In the glass it is full, spiced, and fresh, with nutmeg, plum, and menthol on the nose and a firm acidity holding the long finish together. It is widely available in export markets. Start here.