A bright, distinctive Argentine red for the dinner table

Domingo Molina Petit Verdot x 750ml is a bright, generous red with the fruit at its heart and a subtle, warming detail that gives each glass a little extra shape. It is a characterful choice for the curious red-wine drinker who fancies a change from the usual Malbec, without losing the easy pleasure of a well-made dinner wine.

Open it when steak, grilled meats or lamb are on the table, or take it to a dinner where empanadas, a hearty pasta dish, roasted vegetables or mature cheese are doing the heavy lifting. Its lively feel and generous depth stand up to robust food, while still keeping the occasion relaxed rather than overly formal.

The fruit comes from high in the Calchaquí Valleys of Salta, in north-west Argentina. With approximately 8,000 bottles made each year, this is an interesting, small-production bottle to share when you want to pour something a little different and give the table a story to talk about.

Why you’ll love it

• A refreshing change from Malbec: a distinctive Argentine red for anyone keen to explore another side of the country.
• Bright with real presence: a generous, characterful pour with fruit at the centre and gentle complexity around it.
• Made for a proper dinner: its lively feel is a natural fit for steak, grilled meats or lamb, and it is just as useful with empanadas, roasted vegetables or mature cheese.
• A subtle warming detail: the extra complexity stays in the background, so the fruit remains the focus from first sip to last.
• A bottle with a real sense of place: made from fruit grown high in Salta’s Calchaquí Valleys, it brings something more distinctive to the table.

The story behind the wine

Domingo Molina is a family wine-making project in North Yacochuya, Cafayate, in the Calchaquí Valleys of Salta. The producer names brothers Osvaldo, Gabriel and Rafael Domingo as the team behind the winery; Argentina Travel records that their work builds on the legacy of their father, a pioneer of wine production in the Calchaquí Valleys. That family link gives this small-production bottle a clear connection to the place rather than a generic Argentine identity.

Cafayate sits within a valley landscape of altitude, dry conditions and marked shifts between daytime and night-time temperatures. Domingo Molina’s own vineyards range from 1,600 to 2,300 metres above sea level; this Petit Verdot comes from 2,000 metres. The product’s alluvial sandy-loam soil, with stones at depth, fits the wider valley picture of sandy-loam and stony soils.

For this wine, the grapes are hand-harvested in 20kg boxes during the first week of April. They spend 20 days on their skins and ferment for eight days in concrete tanks with local yeasts. After malolactic fermentation, 30% of the wine is aged for 12 months in second- and third-use French oak, a measured touch intended to add gentle complexity while keeping the Petit Verdot fruit in view.

Wine details