All the medallists from The Global Malbec Masters 2025

Forget talk of the famously astringent, black wines of Cahors: today’s Malbecs are sleek, sophisticated and food-friendly, reports Patricia Stefanowicz MW.

FOR SOME reason not intuitively obvious, the prospect of tasting 60 or 70 Malbecs, especially in temperatures of more than 30o C, always feels a little daunting. Perhaps it’s Malbec’s historical reputation as the ‘black wine of Cahors’, produced in the foothills of the Massif Central in southwest France, surrounded by the mysterious land of ancient painted caves. Or it could be the sometimes absurdly high alcohol of many modern Malbecs. Whatever the reason, I sometimes approach the Global Malbec Masters with a degree of trepidation rather than excited anticipation.

However, in the 2025 Global Malbec Masters my qualms were swiftly swept away. The quality of the wines we judged was remarkably high in all price categories, from inexpensive to stratospheric. Almost every wine we judged was one that I’d drink a glass or three of, though ideally with something more substantial than water biscuits.

These wines are great with grilled Gaucho steaks, of course. But they work well with a wide variety of interestingly-spiced foods, even vegetarian options, from around the globe: Cajun country to Southeast Asia and Australia; the Indian sub-continent and onwards to South Africa. Understandably, most of the wines came from South America, with Argentina dominating the medal table with its signature variety. We found quite a few delicious Chilean examples too, showing good balance and concentration without the green characteristics sometimes associated with Chilean reds.

Mendoza and, especially, the cooler, higher-altitude zones of the western parts of the Uco Valley produce stunning wines, intense but elegant, with abundant silky-textured tannins and aromatic overtones: violets, crushed roses and sometimes hints of acacia honey.

Weightier wines come from the lower, warmer slopes; though these too retain freshness, balance and integrity. Our favourites include wines from Mauricio Lorca, Dante Robino, Bianchi, El Enemigo, Doña Paula, Salentein, Bemberg and the ever-reliable Catena Zapata, plus a couple bodegas of new to us: Huentala and Finca El Origen.

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Luigi Bosca’s Los Nobles Malbec provided us with a lovely Grand Master, at a fair price of £60, and El Enemigo earned a Master for its Malbec blended with Petit Verdot, for a snippy £25. A positive take-away from this year’s Malbec Masters was how intriguing were the blends, succulent and aromatic, and reminding us how well Malbec can work with other grapes. By adding extra dimension and filling the sometimes slightly one-dimensional mid-palate, these other varieties make the wines seem more complete.

In this year’s Global Malbec Masters there were more blends from outside France, from Argentina, Chile and other parts of the globe. Both of Chile’s Gold medals came from Malbec blends: Luis Felipe Edwards’ Gran Reserva Malbec blend with Shiraz and Grenache from the O’Higgins region south of Santiago, and Viu Manent for its expensive but worth it flagship wine, Viu 1, a stunning Bordeaux blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. From Australia, Langmeil’s Barossa Black Beauty, a blend with Petit Verdot, was another stand-out.

There were also a few delectable wines from Malbec’s birthplace, southwest France. Château de Haute-Serre in Cahors, under the direction of Bertrand-Gabriel Vigouroux, earned Silver medals. The rest of southern France is also a good place to search out high-quality Malbecs, with some rather nice Silver medal winners from Languedoc.

Most of the wines judged had lovely balance, so there was not too much palate fatigue, even at the end of a rather ‘black wine’ day. At the stratospheric price levels, many of the wines are stunningly delicious: beautiful fruit, careful oak accents, good freshness and velvet tannins – these are textured, layered and complex wines.

Unoaked Malbec

Oaked Malbec

Oaked Malbec (continued)

Unoaked Malbec Blend

Oaked Malbec Blend

About the competition

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Global Malbec Masters provides a chance for your wines to shine. The 2025 competition was judged on 12 August at The Portman in London, employing experienced judges. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolades – the titles of Malbec Master or Grand Master. This report features medal winners only. Please visit the Global Masters website for more information or, to enter future competitions, with a chance to appear in print and online, call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Aston at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com