Argentina

  • Domaine Bousquet Single Block ‘Wild Roots’

    Domaine Bousquet Single Block ‘Wild Roots’

    In late September 2025, I attended a dinner event marking the UK launch of Domaine Bousquet’s new single block ‘Wild Roots’ wines, part of the winery’s Ameri range, its flagship tier. While the focus was on these new releases, the evening offered some fascinating insight into how the soil, and only the soil, within the…

  • Apelación Cabernet Franc

    Apelación Cabernet Franc

    Apelación Cabernet Franc by Zuccardi is an interesting expression of this variety, made by a winery more widely known for its Malbec. Made from 100% Cabernet Franc, the grapes are carefully sourced from select vineyards in Paraje Altamira and across the wider Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina, a region renowned for its high-altitude viticulture. The…

  • HJ Fabre Malbec Barrel Selection

    HJ Fabre Malbec Barrel Selection

    HJ Fabre Malbec Barrel Selection 2023 is a wine from Patagonia, Argentina, made from 30-year-old vines. Aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, it has an ABV of 14.5%. The name Fabre may sound French, and for good reason, this Malbec is the creation of Bordeaux-born Hervé Fabre. Discovering Argentina in the 1990s, Hervé…

  • El Enemigo Cabernet Franc

    El Enemigo Cabernet Franc

    From Tesco’s Autumn Winter Tasting, it became clear that Tesco are focusing on adding more premium wine offerings. This shift and market conditions has encouraged some wine producers/importers, who once avoided supplying supermarkets, to reconsider, with Tesco now starting to compete more with retailers like Majestic and independent wine shops. With this in mind, I…

  • Three Domaine Bousquet Malbecs

    Three Domaine Bousquet Malbecs

    I first came across Domaine Bousquet Malbec at the London Wine Fair, where I singled out Bousquet Gran Malbec, having won a Gold in the Drinks Business Malbec Masters. Here, I explore the winery further, along with its range of sister wines. The Bousquet family, originally from Carcassonne in southern France, have four generations of…

  • Extra Special Uco Valley Malbec

    Extra Special Uco Valley Malbec

    This Argentinian Malbec from the Uco Valley in Mendoza, a 2020 vintage produced by Bodega Norton, Argentina, was awarded a Bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2023. The wine has aromatic scents of violets and liquorice on the nose and displays a typical Malbec purple hue. Its French oak ageing and 14.5% alcohol…

  • The Watchmaker Tourbillion Malbec

    The Watchmaker Tourbillion Malbec

    The Watchmaker Tourbillion Malbec demonstrates the expertise of winemaker, Stephen Huse. With a prestigious background that includes stints at renowned Bordeaux wineries such as Châteaux Margaux and Mouton-Rothschild, as well as the acclaimed Harlan Estate in the USA, Huse brings a wealth of experience to this Argentinian offering. Originating from Mendoza, this Malbec is a…

  • Alamos Malbec, Uco Valley

    Alamos Malbec, Uco Valley

    This Malbec gained worldwide recognition as the most awarded of its kind in 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, the 2021 vintage won an International Wine Challenge (IWC) award in 2022. According to Vivino, the 2022 vintage outperformed all previous years, scoring an impressive 3.9. I discovered this at a Majestic a very long time ago when…

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Did You Know?

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest export market for Champagne globally, after the United States. More

Local UK bottling of wine which represents about 40% of imported wine. More

Around 1% of people, typically severe asthmatics, have a sulphite sensitivity. More

A large 80% of Australian wine arrives in the UK in bulk. More

Only about 0.02% of Australia’s landmass is dedicated to vineyards. More

In 2024, New Zealand produced only 1% of the World’s wine. More

In 2024, the US imported 37% of World production of Pinot Grigio and the UK was is in second place at 27%. More

In 2024, the UK was South Africa’s largest export market, with 40% of total exports. More

In 2024, the United Kingdom imported 22.3 million bottles of Champagne, a decline of 12.7% compared to the previous year. More

Larger Champagne producers source grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards throughout Champagne. More

Champagne houses and growers collectively produce around 300 million bottles annually. More

In 2025, the Champagne region was home to about 2,124 Champagne houses and approximately 19,000 growers. More

Provence is one of the leaders in the conversion to organic viticulture, with 61% of vineyards certified. More

8% of the South Africa’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified. More

Up to 80% of wine aroma compounds come from grape skins. More

Glycerol is the third-largest component of most dry wines after water and alcohol which is why they so often feel ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ in the mouth. More

Humans are more than 400 times more sensitive to bitter than sweet. More

Humans can detect the earthy molecule geosmin at about 100 parts per trillion and camels are so sensitive to it they can locate damp ground from roughly 50 miles away. More

During the phylloxera crisis of the nineteenth century, 90% of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed. More

In 2025, for La Vieille Ferme, also known as “The Chicken Wine”, sales surged by 49.4% to £110.8 million. More

In 2025, in the UK, Yellow Tail held the top position with sales, marking a 9.8% increase over the previous year. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest wine importer in volume and value. More

In 2024, the UK was the fifth-largest wine-consuming country globally. More

In 2025, global wine consumption continued its downward trend, estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres, the lowest since 1961. More

In 2025, online alcohol sales had a 20% increase in value over five years. More

In 2025, the number of UK vineyards rose to 1,104 and wineries to 238, with land under vine expanding to 4,841 hectares, a 510% increase since 2005. More

Moët Hennessy alone commands nearly 46.66% of the Champagne market, with the top three producers together holding about 61%, and the top five controlling over 72%. More

In 2024, the Champagne market was worth roughly €3.92 billion. More

In the marketing year 2023/24, white wine accounted for roughly 55% of Spain’s output, whereas red and rosé together made up about 45%. More

In the UK, 92% of wine is consumed within 48hrs of purchase. More

The majority of wines, 95%, use commercial rather than wild yeast. More

Between 0.5 and 10 litres of water, per litre of wine, are needed for cleaning during winemaking. More

Machine harvesting can achieve up to 100 tons of fruit per day vs 1 ton for a human. More

In Germany, 2025 was the smallest wine vintage since 2010. More

The majority of vineyards, 90% in 2019, are farmed with heavy chemical interventions. Only 6% are organic. More

90% of low and coastal areas in south Europe and California will no longer be able to produce good wine by the end of the century. More