International Trophy winner Red Single-Varietal under £15

Punching above its weight, this is a real treat, with floral, deep and dark fruits on the nose enhanced by a touch of mint. The textured palate displays brilliant balance between the oak and the fruit, has a naturally fresh feel to it and a long, velvety finish (14.5%).
£7.99 Majestic

TWO SOUTH AMERICAN wines and one from Greece made our shortlist for this always keenly fought International Trophy. But it was Viñalba with this fruit-driven Malbec made by a French ex-patriot that won over the judges in the end, thanks to its combination of deep flavours, herbal edge, pleasing savoury notes and lovely aromatics. It’s a multi-faceted red wine, with the panel also noting dark and floral nuances, as well as a smoky tinge and grippy tannins.

Hervé Joyaux Fabre is both winemaker and proprietor of Bodegas Fabre, which owns three wineries in Argentina: Fabre Montmayou, Viñalba and Phebus. A Bordelais by birth, he has been something of a wine renaissance man in his professional career, working first as a négociant in Bordeaux, then immersed in the wine buying world at a supermarket chain, before finally taking up ‘the job I prefer’, as he puts it – wine producer.

One Regional Trophy for the Fabre Montmayou, Reservado Cabernet Franc 2014 (see p57) and two International Trophies – this one and another Malbec (see opposite page) at this year’s DWWA are a vindication of that decision.

Winning an International Trophy is an impressive achievement for a wine in its first vintage, but Fabre had a clear vision for Parilla Malbec from the start.

‘With Parilla we want, first and foremost, to express the wine’s purity of fruit,’ he says. ‘We are aiming for a really fruit-driven wine, with a clear definition of the Malbec variety.’ The grapes for this wine are sourced from a number of sites across Mendoza, the common thread between them being consistent warmth, cool nights and a long growing season.