VinCrush Malbec Value Challenge Results! Find the best $10 Malbec at Total Wine & More!

Malbec Challenge Results

The results are in! At the bottom of this post, you’ll find the final rankings and links to the individual wine reviews.

Overall, the results this month were mixed. I went into the month with the perception that Argentinian Malbec was an amazing value and it would be incredibly easy to find lots of delicious bottles around $10. Unfortunately, only a few of the bottles are really “good” and justify your dollars. And none of the bottles were really outstanding. Maybe this can be attributed to the fact that the last few vintages (2014 and 2015 especially) in Argentina have been really tough and those are the vintages we’re seeing on store shelves now. I’ll have to revisit this as the 2016s and 2017s start to hit shelves next year. In any case, even though we didn’t find anything amazing this month, the top wines are absolutely worth you’re time. I wouldn’t hesitate for a minutes to pick up the Gascon, the Alamos, or the Trapiche! Give them a try!

Regarding the argument of Argentina versus France, it’s a tough call. Argentina gave us both our best and worst performing bottles. The French bottles came in at #5, #7, and #9, kind of hanging out in the bottom half of the middle. One could make the argument that the French Malbecs are more consistent (not the best or the worst), but I would argue that consistent isn’t worth anything if it’s not good. And only the Argentinian versions achieved good. Go with Argentina, but do some research first. Don’t just assume that all Argentinian Malbecs are good.. they’re not.

I’d also recommend looking for wines in the $7 – $10 range. All of the Top 3 were under $10, with two of them well under $10 at $6.50 and $7.50 respectively. Although a $40 bottle will get you into a whole different ballgame, it doesn’t appear that a $15 wine is going to get you any more enjoyment than a $8 wine.

So, dig in, pick up a few $8 Argentintian Malbecs and see what you think! And please let me know if you’ve discovered any other great Malbec’s in the $10 range. I’d love to give them a try and see how they stack up!