Argentina enjoys a storied history of relaxed, late night dinners and a festive wine culture, historically focused on highly tannic Malbecs and Cabernet blends to accompany the national obsession with red meat at virtually every meal! Argentinian Malbecs have recently gained world class collector status through the tireless efforts of local leaders and international pioneers to produce elegant, refined wines with more polished tannins ideal for long term aging. While the Malbec grape is one of the original five varietals of the prized red wines from Bordeaux, France, Malbec has not achieved noble recognition from serious wine collectors until recently. Today, Argentinian Malbec is on the short list of “must haves” for any diverse collection or chic restaurant wine list. The Catena family is widely recognized as one of Argentina’s “first families” of wine (similar to the Mondavi clan in Napa) and have garnered praise plus “Classic 95 – 99” point ratings for their “Zapata” Malbec. Legendary Napa Cabernet winemaker Paul Hobbs has raised the stakes among South American vintners with his remarkable “Cobos” project based in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The recently released Vina Cobos Marchiori Vineyard Malbec 2006 (rated 99 points by Robert Parker) is nothing short of breathtaking and one of the Top 5 most enchanting wines I have sampled in the past year.