Why is Malbec associated with Argentina rather than France?

Malbec is French, from the south-west, and it remains the main grape of Cahors. But it dislikes damp and frost, and in Bordeaux it slipped into a minor blending role. Argentina's dry, sunny, high-altitude vineyards suit it far better. The grapes ripen fully and reliably there, which gives softer tannins and rounder, riper fruit than most French versions.

What does high-altitude wine actually mean?

Higher vineyards are colder at night but receive stronger sunlight, including more ultraviolet. Vines respond by thickening the grape skins, which means more colour and more tannin, while the cold nights slow ripening and preserve acidity. In practice, an Argentine wine grown at 1,200 metres tastes fresher and more structured than the same grape grown low down and warm.

Almost always, no. Torrontés smells intensely of rose petal, orange blossom and peach because one of its parents is Muscat of Alexandria, and our noses read those aromas as sweetness. Nearly all Argentine Torrontés is fermented dry, so the finish is crisp and often slightly bitter, like grapefruit pith. Serve it properly cold, ideally with spicy food.

What is the difference between Mendoza and the Uco Valley?

The Uco Valley is part of Mendoza, not a rival to it. It is the highest and coolest section, running along the Andes south-west of Mendoza city, with vineyards generally above 900 metres and some considerably higher. Wines from there tend to be fresher, tighter and more mineral than those from Mendoza's warmer, lower-lying eastern zones.

Argentina Wine: Regions, Grapes & Styles

Argentina makes wine in a desert, at the foot of the Andes. Rain is scarce, so vineyards live on meltwater carried down from the mountains through irrigation channels. What the vines get instead of rain is sunlight, altitude and cold nights, and a hot dry mountain wind, the zonda, that can strip a vineyard in spring.

Malbec arrived by design. In 1853 the French agronomist Michel Aimé Pouget, then working in Chile, was engaged to set up an agricultural school and nursery in Mendoza, and he brought French vine cuttings over the Andes with him, Malbec among them. Argentina has marked Malbec World Day on 17 April since 2011, the date in 1853 when Pouget's plan for that school went before Mendoza's legislature. In France, Malbec stayed a minor blending grape. In Mendoza it became the whole point. For most of the twentieth century the country drank nearly everything it made, and only from the 1990s did producers replant for quality and look outward. Luján de Cuyo, in Mendoza, became Argentina's first controlled appellation in 1989.

What Argentine wine tastes like

Argentine Malbec is deep purple and soft-edged: plum, blackberry and a floral violet note, with tannins that feel rounded rather than gripping, and often a layer of vanilla or mocha from oak. It is one of the easiest red wines in the world to like on the first sip.

Altitude changes it. Malbec grown high in the Uco Valley is fresher and more savoury, with firmer structure, darker herbs and brighter acidity. Cabernet Sauvignon ripens more fully here than in Bordeaux; Cabernet Franc gives red pepper and violets; Bonarda is juicy and plummy with light tannin. Torrontés is the outlier. It smells intensely of rose petals, orange blossom and peach, so your brain expects sugar, and then it finishes dry and faintly bitter.

Signature grapes of Argentina

Malbec is why most people open an Argentine bottle, and it earns the attention: thick-skinned, deeply coloured and unusually approachable. Bonarda is the second most planted red, the same variety Savoie calls Douce Noire, and makes juicy, unfussy wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot and Tannat all ripen well, and Pinot Noir works in the cool south. Torrontés is the white to know, an aromatic grape born in South America from a cross of Muscat of Alexandria and Criolla Chica. Chardonnay and Sémillon are quietly excellent.

Wine regions of Argentina

Four Argentine regions have pages here. Mendoza is the engine, accounting for roughly two thirds of the country's wine, with vineyards climbing from the flatter east up into the Andean foothills. The Uco Valley sits inside Mendoza but earns its own page: it is the highest and coolest part, home to named sites such as Gualtallary and Paraje Altamira. Salta, far to the north, has some of the highest vineyards anywhere. Patagonia, far to the south, is windswept, cool and increasingly interesting.

Three Argentine bottles to start with