$15 wines that taste like $50: 8 Argentine malbecs to buy now

During our fascinating Argentina trip last month during which we found many great bottles from three consecutive vintages: 2017, 2018 and 2019. As James commented in our annual report, the five perfect wines this year that got 100 points are all expensive, but nearly all the other Argentine wines we tasted were just a fraction of these elevated prices, and many have been released and are available online (by home delivery of course!).

Following the wet 2015 and 2016 vintages in Mendoza, the 2017 and 2018 bottles, as well as some of the entry-level wines just bottled from the great 2019 vintage, were a refreshing return to form.

We are happy to see more balanced and dry wines being made at this price tag (around $10), but the quality is not entry-level at all, especially compared with the sweet and heavily extracted styles that many producers used to be so fond of. For these vintages we saw deeper understanding from many viticulturists and winemakers, who took a more natural approach and showed precision in the vineyards and wineries, rendering more class to their wines with freshness and balance being underlined.

While the top-notch Argentine producers are well aware of the improving quality of malbec which is reflected in their release prices, we still believe 2017 and 2018 are money-saving vintages for malbec lovers. Wines with great value are being made everywhere. As well as Mendoza, don’t forget about Salta, where wines are fine-tuned with more elegance and details.

Here are some of our best buys for malbecs from 2017 and 2018; wines that cost around $15 but taste like a $50 bottle!

8 great value Argentine malbecs

Vaglio Malbec Valle de Uco Gualtallary Aggie 2018 – JS95
Available at JJBuckley ($16.94)

Tapiz Malbec Mendoza Alta Collection 2017 – JS94
Available at K&L ($14.93)

La Posta Malbec Mendoza Pizzella 2017 – JS93
Available at Wine.com ($15.99)

Blancat Malbec Valle de Uco Estate Selection Vineyard 2017 – JS93
(US Average Price: $13)

Zorzal Malbec Tupungato Valle de Uco Gran Terroir 2018 – JS93
(US Average Price: $17)

Estancia Los Cardones Malbec Salta Anko 2017 – JS92
Available at Wine.com ($18.99)

Alamos Malbec Mendoza 2018 – JS91
Available at Wine.com ($11.99)

Domaine Bousquet Malbec Tupungato Valle de Uco Reserve 2018 – JS91
(US Average Price: $12)

– Zekun Shuai, associate editor in Beijing

Tasting Notes

Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard Malbec Mendoza Fortuna Terrae 2012
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2012
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Vaglio Malbec Valle de Uco Gualtallary Aggie 2018
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2018
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Tapiz Malbec Mendoza Alta Collection 2017
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2017
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Bodega Cuarto Dominio Malbec Valle de Uco Blancat Estate Vineyard Selection 2017
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2017
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La Posta Malbec Mendoza Pizzella 2017
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2017
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Zorzal Malbec Tupungato Valle de Uco Gran Terroir 2018
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2018
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Estancia Los Cardones Malbec Salta Anko 2017
Country Argentina
Region Salta
Vintage 2017
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Alamos Malbec Mendoza 2018
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2018
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Domaine Bousquet Malbec Tupungato Valle de Uco Reserve 2018
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Vintage 2018
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