Andrew Jefford’s top 25 premium Argentinian Malbecs

Today’s southern hemisphere is full of exciting combinations of variety and location for the wine lover to enjoy.

Thirty years ago, that wasn’t true. I’m not going to list those combinations (you’ll each have your own favourites) but want to underline that it is so – and that, in being so, it means we have reached base camp for the exploration of southern hemisphere wine terroirs over the next several hundred years. Terroir wine is not the only sort of wine, but it’s the sort which provides more profound pleasure than any other. It’s born when an ideally adapted grape variety or set of varieties is planted in a distinguished site.

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My own favourite combination of those identified so far is Malbec grown in high- altitude sites in the Andes, principally – though not exclusively – in Argentina. Why? Three reasons. These wines’ singular drama is the first. Their dark, lustrous vivacity has a shocking beauty. They imitate nothing. The best constitute striking new landmarks in the world’s wine landscape.

Structure is the second. If southern hemisphere red wines share a failing, it’s that their fruit hasn’t yet been able to deliver the structural authority of the greatest red wines of Bordeaux, of Tuscany, of Piedmont, of the Rhône. This has nothing to do with oak, and everything to do with what is in the grape skins, how it’s expressed, and how it fuses with the fruit. Successful examples of Malbec from Mendoza and Salta are, for me, among the best-structured of all southern hemisphere reds, even when they don’t contain admixtures of Cabernet. Gutsiness and earthiness can be a precious part of the Malbec profile here. High-grown Andean Malbec skins are evidently special.

Purity – the key 21st-century wine-world desideratum – is the third attribute. Not every Malbec will set nostrils twitching, but the best truly do have a ravishing floral aromatic sweetness and lift: another hallmark of world- class reds. Those who love to chase ‘mineral’ flavours can do so here, along with a saline note. Above all, though, the fruit quality of the best of these wines – lyrical, singing, perfumed, allusive and multi-faceted – rewards in-depth scrutiny over the length of the bottle.

More to come

There are failings. Too many Argentinian reds of all sorts are bottled in a reduced state: a crime against Malbec (since its aromatic charm should be a compelling attraction), and never acceptable for any finished wine. Decanter readers know to double-decant; not so any innocent drinkers, who will be dismayed at first sniff. Lavish oak, too, is a crutch which great Malbec never needs, and wherever it’s palpable, my personal view is that the oak has been overdone – though I admit that there are drinkers who still relish the easy sweetness of ‘an oaky note’. It can be found anywhere, though. Let’s move on.

The final risk comes with this solar territory: too much raisiny sweetness from overripeness. It’s tempting to say that the move to ever-higher locations might resolve this, but things aren’t that simple: age of vines, soil structure and composition, viticulture, water relations and harvest decisions are all crucial. While the majority of our top wines in this selection do indeed grow on the roof of the wine world (like those from Calchaquí and from Gualtallary in Uco Valley), there are also some from older established zones close to the city of Mendoza itself (notably Luján de Cuyo).

Argentina’s leading wine creators clearly understand what lies at their fingertips, and are dreaming of doing better still. If you want to enjoy grand, authoritative, gastronomic red wine from distinguished southern hemisphere sites, follow their efforts.

Andrew Jefford is a contributing editor to Decanter and one of our three Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chairs

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