Firstly, our South American buyer and the man responsible for sourcing the wine, Simon Field MW, elaborates on the origin of the wine, the beauty of its native Argentina, and just what makes our Malbec quite so exquisite:

“For a long time there has been a gap in our New World Own Selection Range, and for a long time we have been tasting and exploring in an effort to fill that gap. New Zealand Pinot Noir, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, Australian Chardonnay… all totemic and all emblematic of what is best (and in many instances worst) of the countries in question. But no Argentinian Malbec!

Argentina’s signature grape, its calling card, call it what you will, the grape variety to match the most ambitiously chiselled slab of barbequed beef… Well, aspiration can only metamorphose into achievement if the product in question is fully worthy of both the romance of expectation and the commercial reality of market forces. The wine, in short, has to be the best in its class.

All this was probably not going through my head when riding across the foothills of the Andes with Eduardo Pulenta last March. The sun was high; the snow was crisp, the uplands dazzling. All seemed well with the world, and in such circumstances it seemed far more appropriate to discuss an Own Label Malbec, than, say, the re-emerging spirit of nationalism surrounding the foggy topic of Los Malvinas. Eduardo was excited by the idea, but was rather embarrassed to advise that demand for his best plots of Malbec was such that it may be tricky. However, as it was to be for BBR, he would see what he could do… What he could do, the very next day, was to present a fantastic line-up of potential blends, each teasingly different, each capturing the unique spirit of its privileged Alto Agrelo Mendoza terroir. When one is spoilt for choice, one does not resist the temptation to make the choice and I am delighted, ten months later, to see the results in bottle. We went for a wine that was ripe, fruity, unabashed and hedonistic… all of that is sui generis and its absence would have been an omission, but also, and perhaps more importantly, a wine with subtle tannins, very crisp acidity and an extraordinary elegance on the finish. The wine wears its 14.5 % alcohol with dignity and aplomb. The BOS Argentinian Malbec is, in short, a most worthy addition to our range.”

Later, we cracked open a bottle of the Malbec ourselves to see what we thought of the result of Simon’s extensive efforts; read our thoughts below… Comments from Laura Atkinson, Oli Barton, Lucy Christopher and Steffan Griffiths.

Laura – My initial thoughts are that this is a very serious-looking wine.

Steffan – It certainly looks the part, doesn’t it? A very deep dark red.

Laura – Dark as a dungeon. This really is true Malbec, just from the colour of it you can suspect that this is going to bear all the grape’s hallmarks, black fruit and underlying power.

Oli – (nosing) You’re right about that, there’s some really impressive intensity to this, that you get straight away off the nose.

Laura – It’s out to prove something, and I think it would reward some patience, to let it calm down somewhat.

Lucy – A little aeration would go a long way towards bringing out the Malbec’s full potential I reckon. I’m not sure you’d even need a decanter, just pouring it would help.

Steffan – Definitely, simply pouring it into a jug and back into the bottle would give it the air it needs!

Oli – Despite that, this is still terrific nonetheless. On the palate it’s got really ripe, plumy fruit, and the tannins are beautifully silky.

Laura – Very full bodied. And it’s incredibly aromatic. You really wouldn’t expect a wine this serious for the price point, and even as I speak it’s still developing in the mouth.

Oli – This really reminds me of a Southern French red we tried the other day, it’s got the same rich fruit characteristics and the same complexity, and while the end product is different it almost harks back to the days of Malbec being part of the Bordeaux blend.

Laura – I see what you mean, but there’s no doubting this is Malbec from the New World. The slightly leafy, herbaceous note and the real crisp acidity on the palate means that this is definitely something to go with food. Something heavy like a good steak, and, although it’s not exactly seasonal, chargrilled bbq meat!

Lucy – Oh it’s a foodie wine, while it’s lovely I think the acidity needs something to cut through, like, as you said, some filling food.

Oli – Personally I love the herbaceousness of it, yes some people might accuse it of being slightly on the green side but there are distinct notes of herbs such as thyme on the finish, and it’s terrific. This really is serious Malbec that’s not going to break the bank.

We tried it again later on that day, having left it for a while after some contact with air…

Oli – Instantly you can tell that that has more fruit. Way more. It’s still intense, but it’s does it far more subtly, a wave of fruit aromas washes over the whole affair and makes it a lot more elegant.

Steffan – Very true, it’s lost none of its power but it’s definitely more supple, smoother.

Oli – It’s brilliant, it’s lost nothing of the things that made it great: the delicious herby flavours are still there on the finish, but now the summer fruits have opened up and you get the whole potential that was hinted at earlier. Terrific.

Laura – Now we just need a rare steak to wrap things up!

The second piece of advice is entirely contemporary and is not necessarily fuelled by vestigial memories of the allegedly dipsomaniacal General by the name of Galtieri and his unwise territorial aspirations…..If you mention a wedding, shall we say a Royal Wedding, even the most urbane of your hosts may well think you are referring to the crooner Michael Boublé, who has just married a local girl in Argentina in a Hello Magazine-style splendour, the regality of which one would be unwise to question. Such confusion is not born out of xenophobia, but rather from a radically different cultural backdrop….which is quite refreshing in its own way…….

The third and most important piece of advise involves wine (at last, I hear you say)  and is an exhortation to visit Pulenta Estates, surely the most impressive property in Mendoza , if not  in all of Argentina. With vineyards in the Agrelo and Uco Valleys, Pulenta are making outstanding wines, principally from Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, but also from Merlot, Cabernet Franc. Pinot Gris, Torrontes and even Pinot Noir……….a veritable vinous canon, but one with Malbec firmly established as its key ambassador.  I was lucky enough to visit with harvest in full swing and the promise of an outstanding crop empirically evidenced by healthy sweet grapes and rich, ripe flavours in the musts and young wines. At over 1000 metres, the vineyards are a web of contradictions; flat yet entirely hand harvested, densely planted, yet low yielding; completely impractical without the expensive drip irrigation yet in full- view of the snow-capped Andes. The corollary of these contradictions is evidenced in diurnal temperature variations and  resulting wines with naturally high levels of both sugar and acidity, which in turn engender the essential contradiction which lies at the heart of all fine wines; the dramatic interplay between freshness and acidity on the one hand and the fruit and the tannin the other. Argentina’s altitudinous vineyards enact this tension with great aplomb and the wines are now regarded amongst the very best in the New World. And not before time!

With Mount Tupungato as an appropriately grand backdrop, Pulenta’s guest accommodation (aka El Ranchio) is located in the middle of the vines, between a plot of Malbec and one of Sauvignon Blanc to be precise…. Lavender-clad pathways, irrigated lawns, an enormous out-door clay oven and a well-stocked cellar welcome the visitor to a stay that will inevitably be peppered with the finest cuts of  beef and, needless to say,  the most delicious wines. The adamantine purity of the peaks of the Andes , the incredible light and soothing breezes have all , quite unusually,  awoken a modest sense of adventure in your correspondent as the accompanying evidence, of an equestrian nature, bears witness. There is something beguiling about such a landscape, about its people, so wonderfully represented by Eduardo Pulenta (above left) and his family and, of course by the wines themselves. The only way to understand the jewel that is Pulenta is to meet the people and to walk amongst  the vines; this is  a truism , but one that seems even more relevant in such  magical surroundings as these……and one which provides a perfect excuse to visit this brave and , if one may use such a word, this majestic country.

After a week of pump-overs, leaf-extraction, grape-sweeping and crate-hosing, I was feeling both exhausted and euphoric. Despite the mountains of delicious Mexican food I was devouring each lunch I had lost on average one lb every 24 hours and my hands were bruised, cut and swollen. It was a tremendously rewarding 10 days.

 What struck me most about my short time at Frog’s Leap was the daily commitment to excellence. From  the overall dedication to sustainable farming (I have seen the benefits of dry farming with my own eyes now) to the speed and efficiency assigned to even the most menial task; I have rarely seen a team work harder. The winery’s philosophy is borne out of an awareness of the soils, climate and surroundings; a respect for the people you work with and an undertaking to produce outstanding wines that deeply reflect the area from which they emanate.

When you next open a bottle I urge you to spare a thought for those who made it, from the pickers to the oenologists, the coopers to the great wine families of the world. Wine is an industry that’s all about people and remembering that can only serve to increase your enjoyment.

For what with global warming and wild fire, Rick’s Giaconda vineyards, planted in the early 1980s with the Chardonnay first bottled in 1986, have been feeling the heat of late. So six years back he grafted Nebbiolo onto half a hectare of wilting Pinot Noir. He’s happy with the result, as are the hacks at the Wine Advocate apparently, rating his Nebbiolo as the best tasted outside Italy. I sense though that his new business partner Michel Chapoutier is not so keen, preferring Syrah instead. Rick stresses he’s not out to make a me-too Barbaresco or Barolo style wine, but one that reflects the lower pH  granite and schistous soils that lie on the Victorian Alp foothills at between 500-700 metres above sea-level, made with the same painstaking care that characterises all his wines; wines that are truly hand-made, without recourse to yeast, pump or filter.

He lost no time in getting amongst a small selection of Piemontese friends/producers I’d lined up for him – Mario Fontana, Davide Rosso, Maria Teresa Mascarello, Teobaldo Rivella and Luca Roagna – quizzing them about everything from the amount of leaves left when thinning to the levels and timings of sulphur additions.  And to return the compliment, he shared out a bottle of his exquisitely poised 2008 Chardonnay and compact blue-blooded 2006 Warner Vineyard Shiraz both no doubt benefiting from Rick’s dabbling in the occult:

evangelical biodynamicist and friend Alex Podolinsky visits Rick from time to time…

And who better to visit during this particularly hot and humid spell than this former air-conditioning engineer from Queensland – although I’m not sure if he ever did get around to mending Cascina delle Rose’s dehumidifier that packed up recently, much to owner Giovanna Rizzolio’s despair.

In the video below winemaker Tom Portet talks a bit about the wines from Penfolds, how they have evolved and the measures they are having to take due to the droughts in recent years:

Unfortunately I’d totally underestimated the generosity of my host who brought along something wonderful, expensive and rare from the Rhône. As we tucked into a great game terrine with crusty bread and quaffed his delicious wine I looked nervously at my brooding plum/purple offering nestling at the bottom of a makeshift decanter. “Uh oh!” I thought.

So it came to the main course, he went for partridge and I went for the roast duck, both with savoy cabbage and mash. I chugged my wine, Ridge’s Lytton Springs 2006, into our glasses, swirled round and ……..

What on earth was I concerned about? Rich, sweet and spicy on the nose with the real essence of blackberries with a dollop of double cream. On the palate it was very similar, blackberry jam!!! Beautifully concentrated with a voluptuous, seductive finish. Fantastic in its own right but it was as the accompaniment to the rich, gamey food that it shone the brightest. I suppose the concentrated fruit is like a redcurrant jelly/game sauce supplement.

Now, I’m not saying it was better than my host’s legend, but for the food we ate, our mood and our surroundings we both agreed…..The Ridge was more, er, “appropriate”!

As the nights draw in and we look to comfort food this ticks all the boxes (and some I hadn’t even considered!) A real seductive treat.

Ready now but will keep well for another 5 years +