This Argentine red is quite ripe, with nearly exotic plum sauce, braised fig and crushed blueberry notes rolled together, while spice, mocha and incense hints help stretch out the juicy, dense finish. A flashy style, but well-balanced. Drink now through 2012. 5,500 cases imported. Rated 92. Top 100. ‑JM, Wine Spectator

A sleek, polished style, with alluring mocha and raspberry ganache notes leading the way, backed by dark plum, hoisin sauce and graphite flavors that push through the finish. This has serious weight, but stays focused and driven. Drink now through 2011. 60,000 cases imported. Rated 91. Top 100. ‑JM, Wine Spectator

We are so very pleased to have again received this postcard from the end of the world, er, that would be Patagonia, Argentina. Produce of 100% Malbec grown in this high-desert vineyard where, not unlike Washington state, irrigation makes an otherwise marginal site a vineyard to be reckoned with on the world stage. Here, a twenty kilometre channel from the Neuquén river has made it possible for the grapevine to flourish and to produce fine wine in Patagonia. Postales del Fin del Mundo is the Bodegas' entry level wine, and it way over-delivers at its price. Ruby red in colour with hints of violet; aromas of dark berries and ripe plums with notes of vanilla, tobacco and earth; deliciously plump and round, just plain juicy on the tongue with soft tannins and a gentle crisp acidity that balance and give shape and lift to the flavorful finish. Give this little red the respect of a good decanting and reap even greater reward. Again, and in our humble estimation, this is stunning value.

In the late 1950s, preeminent producer of Champagne, Moët et Chandon, sent its chief winemaker, Renaud Poirier, to Latin America to investigate what might be possible, world-class wines-wise. Impressed with his eventual findings of unique high-elevation vineyards at Luján de Cuyo, in the province of Mendoza, Argentina, Moët et Chandon decided to launch its first subsidiary vineyards ever outside of France, Bodegas Chandon Argentina. Following decades of successful sparkling wine production, in 1999 Moët Hennessy Wine Estates and Bodegas Chandon Argentina inaugurated the Terrazas de los Andes winery, a still wines initiative based on the pairing of fine wine varietals to unique altitudes within Mendoza's emblematic, snow-fed, high-elevation vineyards. The Finca las Compuertas vineyard is located at 3,500 feet above sea level in the district of Vistalba, Mendoza, Argentina. Planted beginning in 1929 and descendants of Bordeaux clones introduced by Michel Pouget in the 19th century, the Malbec vines have thrived at this elevation. The 2004 Terrazas de los Andes Afincado Malbec is a lovely deep ruby purple in color, with aromas of vanillin and cedar, black cherries, blackberry, ripe plum; a potent beverage, to be sure, rich and strong on the tongue, with polished ripe tannins and a warming, invigorating, flavorful finish.

Bodegas Caro is a highly successful partnership between Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) of Bordeaux and Nicolas Catena of Mendoza, Argentina. To celebrate its Andean origin, the wine was named Amancaya, after the mountain flower which grows in the Andes. The wine is a blend, as they say, based on the elegant texture of the Bordelais Cabernet Sauvignon enhanced by the fruit of the Argentine transplant, Malbec. Indeed, the wine clearly speaks of the elegance and breed of fine claret enhanced by the richness of ripe new-world fruit. Refined and discreet aromas suggest spiced plum, cassis, black cherry, blackberry, a hint of earth and a Lafite-like cedary quality; rich and velvet-textured on the tongue with finely-resolved ripe tannins and toasty berry flavors that burst forth toward the extended finish.

Malbec is considered the fourth or fifth grape in importance in the cocktail that is Bordeaux. It is also the primary grape in the comparatively unknown "black wine" of Cahors, where it is known as the Auxerrois or Cot. But in Argentina, it now seems reasonable to say, Malbec has found its happiest place of them all. Produced from the fruit of own-rooted vines grown in once alluvial soils of medium depth with a bit of clay and some smooth round pebbles at elevations of 3,000-plus feet at Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, to be sure, Doña Paula Malbec is decidedly claret-like in style but, then, this is where the old-world meets the new. Fleshy purple red in color; there's a cool sophistication on the nose with aromas of spiced plum, blackberry, cedar, pencil shavings and a big hint of vanilla and spice from aging in French and new American oak; velvety palate feel with new world richness and ripeness of fruit; finely resolved tannins and just the gentlest astringency on the finish making this a perfect choice for pairing with fine red meats or soft-ripening cheeses… Civilization, HO!