Familia Schroeder

Patagonia is not the Argentina of your imagination. There are no steamy barrios, or seedy, smoke-filled milongas where tango-dancing youths perform footwork worthy of Maradona. Instead there is a pristine environment, where glacial melt-water hydrates the rocky, mountainous soil. Here you can trek all day without seeing anyone besides a friendly Guanaco - the local cousin of the Llama. Here you'll discover Argentina's greatest Malbec vineyards.

The Schroeder family set down roots in Patagonia in 1924 and are at the forefront of this, the world's most exciting cool climate wine-growing region. The temperature is such that delicate varieties like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are exceptional here. Yet it's the Saurus Malbec (named after dinosaur bones found while excavating the winery) that has cleaned up at the 2019 International Wine Challenge.

The 2017 is breathtakingly-complex and well-balanced. Exquisitely-perfumed and showing endless layers of swirling, velvety damson fruit, it drinks like top-quality Pomerol - except that it won't set you back the deposit for a small house. No red at this price point will be a better match for barbecued fillet steak, or grilled Jamaican Jerk aubergine - and if the barbecue weather doesn't come this summer, tuck it away in the cellar for up to five years.