(5) Wines from Argentina

• Our rating:
• Wine 101 style: smooth
• Look for at: wine.com

I had this wine while watching Hamlet 2 (starring the fantastic British comedian Steve Coogan) last night at the Alamo Drafthouse South in Austin. I don’t know the vintage, but this wine was the oakiest, weirdest, grossest wine I can remember having in recent history. Do not buy it. Do not drink it. Trust me. This is the first 0-star review this site has given.

Hamlet 2, however, comes highly recommended by me, as are some of Coogan’s other works, such as I’m Alan Partridge and Tristram Shandy (so long as you can handle irreverent comedies). That’s right, you just read a love-fest for Steve Coogan thinly veiled as a wine review. Bully for you. ($8)

• Our rating:
• Wine 101 style: smooth
• Look for at: wine.com

Pascual Toso is becoming one of my go-to wineries from Argentina. The Pascual Toso 2006 Malbec we reviewed earlier is truly one of the wine bargains of the summer. This reserve Cabernet is also a bottle worth hunting down. The wine is a dark cherry color with a nose full of cherry, plum, and cassis, with a little coffee and mint thrown in for good measure. In the mouth, this is a medium bodied wine with plenty of fine grain tannins. The red fruit and sweet oak ride for a long finish. ($13-15)

• Our rating:
• Wine 101 style: smooth
• Look for at: wine.com

Good for the price, this Argentinean Malbec is dark purple without a lot of fruit and a bit of smoke on the nose. In the mouth, it has nice acid, light tannins, but a short finish. This wine earned a 90 point mark by Robert Parker, and I brought it and the Pascual Toso 2006 Malbec to a dinner party recently. We drank both bottles that night, so I had the opportunity to try both wines at once. I (slightly) preferred the Pascual Toso, but a fellow wino in the group preferred this one. ($12)

• Our rating:
• Wine 101 style: smooth
• Look for at: wine.com

This cheap Malbec from Argentina is one of my favorite everyday wines — it is just plain super for the money. Sadly, it is getting harder to find (I think Neil bought it up around Austin…), but you should try it if you can. It is medium-full bodied, inky purple, with fruit and a touch of smoke on the nose. However, this wine’s true strength is in the mouth. With a lot of well-integrated fruit, it is elegant and so smoooooth with a great mouth feel, light tannins, and a decent finish. Also, if you’re into well-priced and tasty Malbecs, the Gascón 2007 Malbec is another fine choice. ($9-10)

• Our rating:
• Wine 101 style: smooth
• Look for at: wine.com

The 2005 Los Vascos is another in a long list of Argentinean wines that has made its way to my table. The nose offers dark fruit, coffee, and spice. In the mouth, the wine leads with fruit and spice and then finishes with licorice. Made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Syrah, and Malbec, this is a very approachable wine that works well by itself or with a plate of grilled meat. ($16-19)