Applying without Required Experience

BLUF: I meet all requirements in a job posting, except total years experience.  How to approach?

A little specific background:

I want to apply for a position of which I'm a very good fit from a skills and real-world experience perspective.  However, the posting states something along the lines of:

• Minimum 3 years experience on similar projects
• Minimum 7 years total experience performing related work (in industry)

I meet the first requirement (3 years), however I have less than 7 years total.

I just contacted the recruiter to begin the dialogue, and he stressed in his email to refer to the experience and education section of the job posting.

 How would you approach the situation?  Revise my cover letter (not yet sent) to point out that my real-world experience gives me a significant 'head start' on the 7 years requirement?

Thanks!