“Paul Hobbs has had an enviable career as a winemaker in California and a leading consultant in South America, particularly in Argentina.” - Robert Parker

And Agent Noir says, ¡Hola desde Argentina! (hello from Argentina!) Working down here for the week, hunting down the next hot top values for our beloved Operatives.

Speaking of… here’s an impeccable vineyard designate gem from Argentina, by none other than Paul Hobbs, and Wine Spies is your exclusive source for this stunner! If it were from Napa, you’d be looking somewhere in the $300-$500 per bottle range.

At under $50 though?! With 30% of the finest Malbec adding those telltale dark fruits, deep chocolate, and crushed violets?

Hobbs is obsessed with vineyard management and seems to have a 6th sense for bringing out the truest nature of terroir from whatever place he has worked at. He boasts an unmatched wealth of winemaking and consulting experience over the years for Opus One, Robert Mondavi, Peter Michael, Lewis Cellars, Guarachi, etc. along with many other top wineries around the world, from France to South America.

Pascual Toso on the other hand, is an Argentinian institution dating back to 1890, and in the year 2000 they brought on Paul Hobbs to level up their game. And level up he did.

As Wine Spectator reported, “The shift in style here correlates to the hiring of Paul Hobbs who was drawn to Toso in part because of the estate’s extensive vineyard base. With its dry, stony soils and hot growing season, Toso’s vineyards produce ripe, thick-skinned grapes with concentrated fruit and mineral flavors. The Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are sleek and fruit-driven… In a region that sometimes seems divided between those that have and those that have not, Pascual Toso makes it seem more like those that will, and those that won’t.”

And what’s in the glass? A killer wine that offers the classic sweet crème de cassis and blackberry fruit, a hallmark of Hobbs winemaking. With full-bodied richness, notes of Asian spices, pencil lead, cedar, and sweet vanilla, it’s drinking beautifully today, yet will keep for another decade or more.

But who has that kind of patience? Go nuts.

94 Points – James Suckling

“A terrific red with pure blackcurrant and blackberry character, as well as stone and dusty-earth undertones. The tannins are wonderfully polished and fine. Extremely long finish. Drinkable now, but better after 2024.”