Bonarda is a low-key red grape from Argentina marked by its superb drinkability. If you are looking for an honest red wine with bountiful color, ripe and juicy fruit, and relatively low alcohol, bonarda could be your thing. It is not usually a very complex wine, but high-quality bonardas are proof of how much pleasure even a simple bottle of wine, when done well, can bring.

The identity of the bonarda varietal is not a simple one. The name “bonarda” involves several different grapes from Italy. For example, it is distinct from the historically significant bonarda Piemontese, and later proved identical to the almost extinct douce noir/corbeau (charbonneau) in Savoie and Jura.

Luckily, this grape’s success in Argentina as the country’s second most widely planted red has whittled down these complications to just bonarda (de Argentina), which is now very much an Argentine grape that suits everyday drinking but whose potential extends beyond that too. And while malbec might find it a little too warm in or out of Mendoza, the late-ripening bonarda can still produce excellent wines with good volume, making the life of growers a little easier.

For consumers, we are mostly acquainted with the bonardas with deep color (probably why the grape is also known as “corbeau”, “crow” in French) and a vibrant, floral, fruit-forward nose with the same fruity exuberance on the palate coated with smooth tannin and moderate alcohol. These are all testimonies of a grape that suits either a blend with a more monolithic malbec, or on its own, destined for a relaxed gathering with good food and hearty laughter.

At its best, especially from the older vines on elevated areas, bonarda tends to show a tad more tautness with serious depth and structure that tunes into its vivaceous, morello cherry and juicy, plummy fruit without having either taxing jamminess or the underripe herbaceous overtones. Think of barbera mixed with a textured gamay/Beaujolais. A smart oak regime can be applied to these more ambitious versions, adding a layer of complexity that bonarda on its own might not achieve.

The following list provides a chance to rediscover this hidden-gem variety at a price point around $15. Also, bear in mind that pure label bonardas are still relatively niche in most wine markets outside Argentina, so finding specific wines may be difficult, but if you can, try to see if these bottles are available.

– Zekun Shuai, associate editor in Beijing