Hasn't Malbec come a long way! It used to produce the tough, tannic reds of SW France, then Argentina got a hold of it and made it a worldwide star. Not to be out done, France is revisiting this grape and, with refined techniques and careful handling, showing just how appealing its wines can be. Hervé discovered a plot of 30-year-old vines in the Languedoc's Vallée de l'Orb, on soils covered with big boulder-like stones that promote grapes with lovely intensity and ripeness.
Impressed, he bagged the lot. Hand harvesting, gentle handling, and just a short time on its skins, have resulted in a silky, ripe, supple wine, with ample fruit tinged with herbs and liquorice. A fine choice with marinaded pork chops, roast chicken or veggie kebabs.

First we brought you the (far from) standard Lobo e Falcão, with its dense ripe fruit and weight. It went down a storm, so a few years back we also introduced the Reserva edition. The wines are from an historic estate that has been in the same family for over 200 years. In the 17th century, it was the king’s falconry and special barrels of wine were kept aside for royal visits. Today, fourth-generation José Lobo de Vasconcelos (Lobo means wolf) heads up the property, with its expansive vineyards, some of which are over a 100 years old. The cellar remains one of the region’s most innovative, with Joana de Lopes as winemaker. Dark, spicy Syrah along with native varieties and a layer of creamy oak, this is a top choice for slow cooked beef.

It's from maestro of Puglia, Angelo Maci, and his pride and joy winery that has twice been voted southern Italy's finest. A regular customer top favourite.

The grapes all come from old, arid soil vineyards, overshadowed by statuesque stone pines. Both vines and trees benefit from the cool down draught from the Moncayo mountains, producing grapes with delicious depth of ripeness and long, velvety tannins. 16 months in French oak barrels provides more layers of richness and depth. This will impress.

This plush and powerful example comes from Dino Taschetta, who uses old vine fruit from his grandfather's vineyard, high up in Poggioreale. It was abandoned after an earthquake, but when Dino discovered the quality of the ancient vines, he returned to create this silky and sensuous black red.