Viña Cobos, "Felino" Malbec, Mendoza 2024

Gorgeous Malbec from a recently established winery, this is simultaneously familiar and vital. Packed with dark fruits, berries and spice notes, it is pure and vibrant and a living example of why some of the world's wine regions have still got new stories to tell.

Excellent with red meats, casseroles and 'picky bits', this is a very good wine to show the generosity of Argentina through the hands of a superb international winemaker. 

Built with superstar Napa Valley wine maker Paul Hobbs, this winery has been doing its own Mendoza thing since 1999. Ten years earlier Paul visited Mendoza for the first time - driving over the Andes from Chile, he fell in love with the place and the people, but also, less-sentimentally, he believed in its potential to make great wines.

His first experiments in Mendoza winemaking began with wild fermented Chardonnay before turning, inevitably, to Malbec; his first 10-barrel vintage of Malbec persuaded the American press of the potential of this grape. He continues to make wines that are authentic expressions of their terroir. This exploration of the different terroirs across Mendoza has taken him to the distinguished regions of Luján de Cuyo and Valle de Uco to produce really profound and unique wines. The Cobos winery’s elegant and balanced wines are a result of meticulous vineyard farming and utmost respect for terroir.