Finca Sophenia, Altosur Malbec, Gualtallary, Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza 2021 (14%)

£12.50-£14.99 Ellis Wines, Highbury Vintners, The Naked Grape

It’s fair to say that no other country delivered value in this year’s DWWA in the way that Argentina did, and this saturatedly dense, dark Malbec from the prized highlands of Gualtallary makes this point admirably. It’s initially beefy and purposeful in aroma, the plum and sloe fruits emerging in purer form with time in the glass or decanter. There’s admirable weight, lyricism and lift to those fruits: Gualtallary is never clumsy. Better still, in place of overt tannins and intrusive acidity there is a kind of sappy, stemmy freshness that combines the function of both texture and acidity – and that, in fact, is the origin of the fruit’s notable energy and charm. Value Best in Show wines rarely exceed the appeal you’ll find here.

Finca Sophenia was founded in the late 1990s by Roberto Luka, who named it after his partner’s daughter Sophia, and his own, Eugenia. Luka was president of Wines of Argentina from 2004-2006, and the managing director of one of the country’s largest wine exporters, so was arguably ahead of the game when it came to deciding where to lay the foundations of his own winery, the nod going to Gualtallary, a lofty region celebrated for its distinctive wines.

Finca Sophenia’s 130ha of vines are on the cusp of being certified organic and sit on rocky, sandy, mountainous terrain irrigated by snowmelt from the Andes.

‘Our aim with Altosur Malbec is to express the freshness, elegance and nature of our place in Gualtallary,’ says Eugenia Luka. ‘It has proved to be a unique location that produces remarkable Malbecs.

‘Everything we do is focused on our customers – we are always working to satisfy them, and our thinking is that next year’s wine must be better than the previous vintage.’

First produced in 2003, Finca Sophenia’s winner is fermented in stainless steel before spending three to four months in French oak.