HEADING SOUTH
Time to raise a glass for Argentina’s new world tipples with John Clarke’s pick of the best wines from the region
Set against the backdrop of the Andes, Argentina produces new world wines that perfectly complement old world tastes.
Here, international grape varieties flourish, with one variety above all, malbec, taking the lead role in the country’s wine production. But that’s not too surprising.
A grape variety that does well enough in its French homeland has thrived and prospered in Argentina, displaying a richness and a quality that sets it apart from other malbecs.
Naturally, our round-up concentrates on some of those splendid malbecs that offer great value for money.
But there are other great red wines too, ranging from the under-rated alphonso lavalle grape, through pinot noir to Bordeaux-like blends that bring out the best the Argentinian terroirs can offer.
As for white wines look no further than the highly aromatic torrontes, a variety unique to Argentina. As more and more discerning wine drinkers are finding, it’s a country that can offer a range of wines to suit everyone.
You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Tesco Finest Angelica sur malbec 2017, 13.5%, 75cl: £18, Tesco
From low-yield vines in Argentina’s Uco Valley comes another superb example of Argentina’s most favoured and most famous grape variety, malbec.
Far from its mother country of France, the grape has found a natural homeland in the Mendoza wine region where its lavish flavours of blackcurrant and plum are given full reign. Soft and succulent, it can be enjoyed now with red meat dishes or kept for another three or four years.
Buy now
MAAL rebelión malbec 2018, 14%, 75cl: £21, Red Squirrel
A malbec sourced from a tiny appellation in Mendoza, where winemaker Alfredo Merlo and grower Matias Fraga make MAAL, which stands for “malbec as Alfredo likes”.
The good news is that the rest of us should like it too, with its rich and textured dark fruit and bramble flavours with hints of cocoa and spice. Merlo and Fraga claim that it’s simply “nothing more than extraordinary grapes turned into honest wine”. We wouldn’t argue with that.
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Alfonso the grape 2019, 13%, 75%: £7.49, The Pip Stop
Meet Alfonso, or more properly Alphonso Lavalle, a French grape variety that’s not grown in too many places around the world, Bali being one, and Argentina another. Blended here with a splash of syrah, it provides a splendidly fruity and approachable red wine with oodles of blackcurrant and dark cherry flavours and a hint of pepper. The cartoon-like label is fun, too.
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Lala la organic malbec 2017, 13.8%, 75cl: £15, Wanderlust Wine
As the attractive label proclaims, this is an independent wine for those who “celebrate the simple and pure things in life”. An organic and more European-style malbec from a producer whose Mendoza estate looks
out onto the foothills of the Andes, it’s fresh, vibrant and fruity, with robust flavours of blackberry and redcurrants along with notes of herbs and spice.
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Los Haroldos hermandad blend 2016, 13.5%, 75cl: £20.95, Slurp
A silver medal winner at the 2018 Decanter awards, this is an exceptional blend of malbec, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot from one of Argentina’s leading producers.
Each variety brings its own present to the party – blackberry and plum from the malbec; red fruit and acidity from the cabernet sauvignon; wild berry and herbs from the merlot and a dash of blueberry from the petit verdot. A glorious fruit salad of flavours and spices that gel together to form an intense and pleasurable wine.
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Co-op fairtrade irresistible malbec 2018, 13%, 75cl: £7.25, Co-op
A Fairtrade malbec from the picturesque but remote Famatina Valley in northwest Argentina. Cushioned between the foothills of the Andes to west and the Sierra de Velasco mountain range to the east, the highaltitude La Riojana vineyard produces a juicy and almost chewy malbec with intense and plush damson and
cherry flavours with hints of spice.
Sales of the wine also benefit the local community with Fairtrade profits and Co-op funding helping to set up a new secondary school with 650 pupils and a clean water facility.
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Barda pinot noir bodega chacra 2018, 13%, 75cl: £23.95, Lea & Sandeman
Chacra can be defined as a small but special rural farm or, in this case, a Patagonian winery that respects the environment by following biodynamic and organic principles. Winemaker Piero Incisa della Rocchetta’s aim is to make wines that are “pure, mineral and powerful” which pretty well sums up this luscious pinot noir with its red fruit and plum flavours, sandalwood notes and tender tannins.
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Decero malbec, finca decero 2017, 14.5%, 75cl: £14.50, Help 4 Hospitality
A robust, ruby-coloured malbec from the Remolinos vineyard in the foothills of the Andes. At a height of 1,050m (3,500ft) it’s a rugged terroir but the winemakers rely on the “remolinos”, the little swirls of wind that protect the grapes from the spring frosts and give this wine its name.
Matured for 14 months in French oak, it’s rich and soft with deep red fruit and cherry flavours on the
tongue and pleasing tannins. And by buying it here you'll be helping to aid the hard-hit hospitality sector.
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Masi tupungato paso doble 2017, 14%, 75cl: £14.99, Hay Wines
A red blend that brings a touch of Italy to South America. Using the Italian appassimento method, semidried corvina grapes (a variety found only in Italy’s Veneto region and Argentina) are added during fermentation.
They provide a sweet cherry flavour that complements the red fruit notes supplied by the malbec. Think of this as an Argentine counterpart to an Italian Valpolicella. You get the same big aromas and hints of spice and herbs. The wine’s also organically certified and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
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Berry Bros & Rudd Argentine malbec 2019, 14.5%, 75cl: £12.95, Berry Bros & Rudd
A product of the Pulenta Estate in Mendoza where the 2019 harvest was, in the words of Berry Bros and Rudd wine buyer Catriona Felstead, “fantastic”. Rich plum and black fruit flavours dominate, although notes of raspberry and blueberry creep in there too, along with a touch of spice. Enjoy it with a summer casserole, chorizo and pasta or a succulent steak.
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Tapiz seleccion de barricas beldn 2013, 14%, 75cl: £26.49, Winebuyers
Four grape varieties go into this smooth and velvet, Bordeaux-like blend – malbec (40 per cent), cabernet sauvignon (36 per cent), merlot (14 per cent) and syrah (10 per cent). The end result is another high-altitude wine – the vineyards are at 1,350m in the Uco Valley – that delivers big time with huge, concentrated red and dark fruit flavours along with notes of cocoa and vanilla.
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Finca agostino inicio malbec 2017, 13.5%, 75cl: £14.95, Hannibal Brown
Inicio translates as “in the beginning” or, in the case of the Agostino brothers who make this Mendozabased malbec, tales our grandfather Sebastiano taught us.
It’s as a tribute to his winemaking experience that they produce this jammy red wine, aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels, with its flavour of juicy blackberries and cherries and hints of pepper and spice.
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Florel torrontes 2019, 12.5%, 75cl: £9.99, Virgin
The highly aromatic torrontes is Argentina’s most widely planted white grape variety and it’s easy to see why. Fragrant and fruity, it’s a come-on wine for those who favour sauvignon blanc.
There’s the same hit of floral freshness and a natural acidity that makes it a wonderful and refreshing choice for warm days. Enjoy it as an aperitif or a welcome addition to a light chicken-based meal.
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Chamuyo malbec mendoza vineyeards 2018, 13.5%, 75cl: £9.95, Corney & Barrow
Here’s a case of one symbol of Argentina, malbec, borrowing from another proud part of the nation’s heritage – the tango. “Chamuyo”, a so-called tango slang word, means to whisper of passion or desire. And it’s a desire that’s mirrored in the aim of the Chamuyo winemakers to make a malbec that’s as passionate and vibrant as the dance itself. Structured and fruity with layers of blackcurrant and hints of cocoa, it’s a wine that deserves a place in the spotlight.
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Bordegas Norton altura malbec 2017, 14.5%, 75cl: £17.70, Corking Wines
A high altitude malbec from Bodega Norton, made from grapes grown in the Los Chacayes vineyards some 1,300m (4,265ft) above sea level in Mendoza’s Uco Valley. Here, the growing conditions are more extreme, with the vines enjoying their own special microclimate and a longer ripening season resulting in malbecs that are lush, jammy and rich, with intense plum and forest fruit flavours. Ready to drink now or can be kept for up to eight years.
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The verdict
A consistency in quality and taste makes it hard to pick just one top wine from this selection. It could have been the medal-winning Los Haroldos Hermandad Blend, a superb blend of four varieties, the aromatic Florel Torrontes, an excellent white wine choice or the enterprising Alfonso the Grape. In the end, however, it had to be a malbec and the Tesco Finest Angelica Sur Malbec is all a red wine should be; juicy, soft and succulent and a reminder of why Argentina is a leading wine producer.
Finally, you’ll find that one of the wines here, the Finca Decero Remolinos Vineyard malbec, is available through a scheme called Help 4 Hospitality (H4H). It’s a pop-up online wine shop set up to provide essential support and care for both individuals and businesses in the hospitality sector who are suffering because of the Covid-19 crisis. It has set a target of raising £250,000 by 1 August. A large range of wines can be purchased direct at help4hospitality.com/ and delivered to your door in about five days with 12.5 per cent donated to the appeal.