El Portillo, Uco Valley (Mendoza, Argentina) Malbec 2009

 Malbec, a grape and wine that Argentina is seizing as its own, is “hot.”  And with popularity often comes mediocrity in the wine world.  But El Portillo manages to pull it off with this bargain-priced example.  With surprisingly good character, this Malbec conveys smoky, gamey elements in addition to the expected deep black fruit flavors.  To their credit, it is not overdone, but balanced.  This is a “go-to” wine for virtually any meat coming off the grill this summer.