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Malbec, in case I've left readers with the wrong impression in recent months, is not Spanish for "cheap red."

The world has discovered that Argentina's signature grape can make a fine drink at under $10 a bottle, sometimes even under $8. Plum-like, generally full-bodied with an acid grip, it's hearty on its own and a good partner for casual food, such as burgers.

There is another side to the grape, though. When malbec vines are pruned and stressed to yield less fruit per acre, the resulting wine can take on greater flavour concentration and a more interesting structure. It can begin to resemble good-quality Bordeaux, though it's usually sweeter in the centre and without quite the subtlety or longevity of the latter.

There are even estates producing, inevitable in these times, small-batch cult malbecs and malbec-cabernet blends. Notable names include Achaval Ferrer, Luca, Alta Vista and Cheval des Andes. That last one may ring a bell with Bordeaux collectors. It's the Argentine property of Cheval Blanc, one of the greatest wines in the world, recent vintages of which are selling for $1,300 a bottle in British Columbia.

All the cult Argentine wines I just mentioned are tough to find in Canada because they are made in small quantities and sell out quickly after each vintage is released. In British Columbia and Quebec right now, however, the liquor boards have a small quantity of the very good Achaval-Ferrer Malbec ($25.99, product No. 463687; $22.35 in Quebec) and a few bottles of the rare Achaval Ferrer Quimera ($44.99, No. 463067; $39 in Quebec), which is a renowned blend of malbec, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

Three selections in Ontario released last week through Vintages also reveal the regal side of Argentine malbec.

The elegant label on Finca el Origen El Origen Valle de Uco Gran Reserva Malbec 2006 ($25.95, No. 65425) serves as a clue to its quality. Here's a lusciously rich, velvety red stacked with dark-skinned fruit, chocolate, coffee and lively spice. It should age nicely for up to five years and would make a fine host gift for a dinner party.

Humberto Canale Gran Reserva Malbec 2006 ($19.95, No. 75101) hails from a 100-year-old family-owned winery in the southern region of Patagonia. Full-bodied, smooth and silky, it shows coffee and vanilla over a good core of plum-like fruit, with a slightly gritty, herbal-spicy note on the finish.

Another good choice is Prodigo Malbec 2005 ($15.95, No. 77867), silky, smoky, with notes of bitter chocolate and vanilla. Good value in premium malbec, from Argentina to California.

Available for the first time through Vintages is an excellent, uncommon blend from California called Edward Sellers Vertigo 2005 ($39.95, No. 77875). Cast in the image of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, this full-bodied red from Paso Robles is dominated (70 per cent) by grenache, with mourvedre and syrah in supporting roles. The intense, dark colour presages a dense palate with chewy tannins and notes of plum, blueberry, spice and new shoe leather - Châteauneuf with more oak influence and less oxidation than most examples of the real thing. This deservedly won a gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Many people today are looking for a red just like Kenwood Merlot 2005 ($22.95, No. 717348): full-bodied, smooth the way merlot is expected to be, with ripe fruit flavour and rich vanilla overtones from oak-barrel aging. Kenwood, in Sonoma County, Calif., does a nice job here at the price.

Seghesio is a zinfandel specialist in California without the pricing chutzpah of some of its better-known competitors. The intensely concentrated fruit in Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel 2005 ($37.95, No. 56879) comes from low-yielding vines that are, on average, 90 years old. That advanced age is uncommon in the wine world, where vines are usually uprooted long before they get that old to make way for higher-yielding and thus more economically fruitful plants. The wine is full-bodied, rich and juicy, with ripe berry fruit and a crisp finish, yet none of the green acidity that sometimes plagues zinfandel, whose clusters tend to ripen unevenly. The comparably good 2004 vintage of the same wine is available in British Columbia for $45.99 (No. 524264).

New to Ontario is Capcanes Costers del Gravet 2005 from Spain ($25.95, No. 707059). A luscious, fruit-packed red, it's composed mainly of cabernet sauvignon with some garnacha del pais and carenina from, let's call them, middle-aged vines ranging between 30 and 60 years. There's a delicious herbal-spicy edge underlying the fruit, as well as a dry, warm, fine-tannin finish.

Turning to whites, I was impressed with the varietal character of See Ya Later Ranch Semillon 2007, available only in the West ($22.99 at the winery and at VQA stores). Fermented in wood, this medium-bodied effort from British Columbia's Okanagan Valley shows tropical fruit, pear and apple notes with a nice hint of apple-peel bitterness on the crisp finish.

Also impressive for the price is Fernand Engel Gewurztraminer Reserve 2005 from Alsace ($22.95, No. 80481). Exceptionally silky and plump with lychee-like fruit, it also shows the rose-petal side of gewurztraminer in a big way, with good acidity balancing out the sweet, almost-off-dry fruit.

And a very good example of the floral, aromatic gewurztraminer grape at a bargain price is Baden Gewurztraminer 2007 from Germany. Light medium-bodied, fleshy and round, it's off-dry with notes of stone fruit, honey and mineral. A great choice for heavily spiced food.

Pick of the week

Finca el Origen El Origen Valle de Uco Gran Reserva Malbec 2006 ($25.95, No. 65425). Here's a lusciously rich, velvety red stacked with dark-skinned fruit, chocolate, coffee and lively spice. It should age nicely for up to five years and would make a fine host gift for a dinner party.