Argentina didn’t just adopt Malbec, it transformed it. What was once a moody, difficult grape scratching around the vineyards of southwest France found its true self under the intense Andean sun, and the result is one of the world’s most reliably gorgeous red wines. Deep, plummy, velvet-smooth and generously priced, Malbec is the grape that asks very little of you and gives a lot back. The trouble is, once you know it’s good, you start wondering: which one is actually the best? The answer, as it usually is with wine, is “it depends.” It depends on your budget, your mood, whether you’re grilling a steak or curling up on the sofa. So we’ve done the work for you. Here are five Malbecs spanning £9 to £33 that are worth every penny, and a couple of them will genuinely surprise you.
Trivento Private Reserve Malbec
Trivento is one of Argentina’s best-known export names, and honestly, the reputation is earned. This Private Reserve is made from grapes found in Mendoza’s Uco Valley at the foothills of the Andes. The high altitude of these vineyards, which sit around 1,000 metres up, drags in cool night air that keeps the acidity bright and the flavours focused. Pour a glass of this wine and you get a nose that’s all plum, dark cherry, chocolate and a little vanilla warmth from the oak. Think of it as a Friday night film-and-sofa wine that also happens to work brilliantly alongside a bowl of slow-cooked lamb ragu. At £9 Clubcard price it’s an absolute bargain.
Size: 750ml
ABV: 13%
Find here: Tesco (£9 Clubcard price)
Domaine Bousquet Finca Lalande Malbec
Does Organic Wine Actually Taste Different? The short answer: sometimes, yes, and this one is a good example of why. Domaine Bousquet’s founder Jean Bousquet, a winemaker from the Languedoc, fell so in love with the virgin territory of Gualtallary in the Uco Valley that he dug for water for two years before planting a vine and that obsessive commitment to place shows up in the glass. The Finca Lalande is aged entirely in stainless steel tanks, no oak, which means the fruit gets to do the talking: intense violet colour, deep plum and blackberry on the nose, then blueberry, fig and a lovely savour of black pepper on the palate. It’s fresh, elegant and surprisingly light-footed for a Malbec. Perfect with mushroom risotto or a roasted aubergine dish, and a standout choice for anyone who prefers their red wines a little less heavy.
Size: 750ml
ABV: 14%
Find here: Waitrose (£12)
Gran Mascota Malbec
Gran Mascota is the result of patience. Winemaker Rodolfo Sadler (known in Argentina as ‘Opi’) takes grapes from vineyards sitting 1,050 metres above sea level in San Carlos, Uco Valley, and ages the wine for eighteen to twenty months in French oak before it sees a bottle. The result is a Malbec that punches well above its weight. On the nose it opens with roasted plum, blackberry and a gentle waft of toasted vanilla from those oak barrels. To taste it is full but not heavy, with a dark, earthy undertow of liquorice and coffee that makes the whole thing feel genuinely structured rather than simply fruity. It’s the kind of bottle that makes you feel like you’ve discovered something rather than just bought something. Slow-roasted lamb shoulder is the obvious pairing for us, but it would be just as happy alongside a proper cheeseboard at the end of the evening.
Size: 750ml
ABV: 14.5%
Find here: Tesco (£13 Clubcard price)
Bodega Norton Winemaker’s Reserve Malbec
Bodega Norton is one of the older names in Argentine wine, founded in 1895, and the Winemaker’s Reserve is their calling card. Winemaker Jorge Riccitelli hand-harvests grapes from the Finca La Colonia estate in Luján de Cuyo, an appellation widely respected for producing Malbec with genuine depth and finesse. The wine spends twelve months in French oak and another ten in bottle before release, and that time investment shows. What you get is round and velvety, with ripe dark fruit (blackberry, plum, a little cassis) woven through with violets, tobacco and warm spice, finishing long with a cocoa note that lingers pleasantly. It’s the bottle you open when you actually want to pay attention. Pour it on a cold evening with a charred ribeye steak, or a slow-braised short rib, and you’ll understand why Mendoza Malbec deserves its reputation.
Size: 750ml
ABV: 14%
Find here: Waitrose (£15)
Catena Alta Malbec
The Catena family has been making wine in Mendoza since 1902, and the Alta is where all that history and ambition come together into a single bottle. Sourced from five individual rows across the family’s Andean vineyards including the legendary Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary, each lot is selected for intensity and complexity, and built to develop over years. But you don’t need to wait: open it now and it offers a rush of blackcurrant, cassis and dark cherry, with violets and lavender lifting the nose beautifully before the palate settles into dark chocolate, fine tannins and a long, mineral finish that feels like the wine is still talking long after you’ve swallowed. This is a Malbec for a proper occasion, the kind of bottle that anchors a really good dinner party. Chargrilled steak is the classic call, but a roasted duck leg with cherry sauce would be a genuinely memorable match.
Size: 750ml
ABV: 13.5%
Find here: Waitrose (£33)
Five bottles, one grape, and proof that Malbec has something to say at every price point. Whether you’re grabbing a bottle on the way home on a Tuesday or choosing something genuinely special for the table, Argentina has you covered. If you want to go deeper on the world of Malbec, our piece on the Five Perfect Food Pairings for Argentinian Malbec will make sure you’re eating the right thing alongside it. If you fancy seeing what other wines we recommend, click here!
