Oh, goodness, this is the stuff. It's got that wonderful, if almost uniquely Argentine quality of old world meets new, with complex aromas approaching bottle bouquet, suggesting plum, black cherry, baking spices, rose petals and leather; plump and round, smooth and velvety on the tongue with a genuine warmth and gentle grip that carry flavor long, long on the finish. Goodness, indeed! Splendid value, too, this.

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!