Argentina adds elegance to its reputation for value £15-£20 £20-£25
Argentine reds are hitting their sweet spot, shifting from powerful blockbusters to more restrained, elegant wines – but still with ripe, juicy, flavours and great value for money.
My top dozen reds under £25 contains a diverse collection of grapes from juicy succulent bonarda, spicy syrah, herby cabernet franc, elegant pinot noir to Argentina’s emblematic variety, the rich damsony malbec.
Under £10 Uco Valley, Mendoza: Exquisite Argentinian Malbec 2019
Every supermarket has its own label malbec, but Aldi’s unoaked version was preferred by our tasters. High altitude vines in Tupungato in the foothills of the Andes give plummy aromas, fresh red fruit flavours, smooth tannins with a nippy twist to the finish. £5.99, Aldi
Under £15 Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza: Hey Malbec! 2018 Matias Riccitelli
Salta-born Matias Riccitelli knows how to knock out superbly priced malbec at affordable prices. Aged in concrete with a touch of oak this has a gutsy, black-fruited, opulent, peppery style with soft approachable tannins. £10.99/£12.99, Majestic Wine
Mendoza: Estacion 1883 Bonarda 2017 Trapiche
Italy’s bonarda grape might not have malbec’s depth of colour and plummy richness, but it can make an appetisingly juicy red. Sweet fruits and liquorice aromas, light smoky notes, hints of spice, voluptuous blackcurrant fruits with light oak notes. £11-£12.99, Fine Wine Musselburgh; Great Western Wine; Simply Wines Direct; The Drink Shop
Uco Valley, Mendoza: ‘1300’ Malbec 2018 Andeluna
From Andeluna winery in the foothills of the
Andes, this has strawberry and damson aromas, dark chocolate, kirsch, spice and sweet fruit flavours – this scored highly with our tasters. £10.99, Simply Wines Direct; The Drink Shop; £12, Strictly Wine; £13, Hay Wines
Alto Agrelo, Mendoza: La Flor Malbec 2018 Pulenta Estate
If you like your malbec plush, succulent and full, with violet aromas, ripe damson fruits, vanilla and tobacco notes and velvet smooth texture, you will love Pulenta’s style. £12-£14.50, Wine Trust 100; Berry Bros & Rudd; Woodwinters
Pedernal, San Juan: Pyros 160 Barrel Syrah 2015
High altitude syrah grown at over 1,400m in a cult new area of San Juan called Pedernal. Rich blackberry fruits, meaty flavours with herby resonance and marked acidity. £19, St Andrews Wine Co; Lea & Sandeman; The Whisky Exchange
Lujan De Cuyo, Mendoza: Vinalba Gran Reservado Malbec 2016
Bordeaux-trained Herve Fabre’s Gran Reservado was a high scorer with our tasters who loved its generous, sweet plummy fruits, firm structure and long complex finish. £14.99/£16.99, Majestic Wine
Calchaqui, Salta: ‘Gran Corte’ Amalaya Malbeccabernet Franc 2016 Colome
In Argentina’s northern region of Salta, vines grow at over 1,800m altitude on poor rocky soils. This quirky blend aged in French and American oak is the best of their reds: loved its herby notes and elegant finish. £15.50-£16.99, Aitken Wines; Cornelius Wines; Ellies Cellar; Lockett Bros; Luvians; Valhalla’s Goat; Vino Wines; Exel Wines; Fountainhall Wines
Patagonia: Saurus Select Pinot Noir 2017 Familia Schroeder
Schroeder make stunning malbec at the same price, but I was impressed by the progress they have made with the tricky pinot noir grape. Cool climate Neuquen in Patagonia, well south of Mendoza, is very suited to pinot noir. This has bright floral aromas, light strawberry fruits, minerally undertones and fine tannins. £15.99, Cheers Winemerchants; Viader Wines; Exel Wines, Perth
Uco Valley, Mendoza: Altura Malbec 2017 Norton
For those who love big reds, this malbec has deep dark colour, intense cassis aromas, rich blackcurrant flavours, firm structured, high acidity and rich powerful length. £17.70, Corking Wines; Hic Wine Merchants
Rio Negro, Patagonia: Barda Pinot Noir 2018 Bodegas Chacra
From the grandson of the creator of Italian wine Sassicaia. Piero Incisa della Rocchetta planted ungrafted pinot noir vines and 37,000 poplar trees to shelter them back in 1990 at his Rio Negro estate. The best Argentine pinot noir I have tasted to date. £23.95, Lea & Sandeman
Lujan De Cuyo, Mendoza: Vina 1924 ‘Parcel 3’ Malbec 2015 De Angeles
Guillermo Barbier and Juan Manuel Gonzalez mature Malbec for a short time in oak, but for 24 months in bottle. This bottle age gives it an appealing developed plum bouquet, sweet red berries and superb silky palate. ■
£25, Field & Fawcett;
Las Bodegas