Bodegas Norton is among the most important wineries in Mendoza. Founded by British railroad engineer Edmund Norton in 1895, it was the first wine bottled in Mendoza and then transported to Buenos Aires. In the 1970s, it was the first Argentine wine to be exported, and today it is still one of the largest landowners in Mendoza. It would be tempting to turn our nose up at such a large winery if their wine wasn’t so darn good. With so much vineyard to choose from, and the talented winemaker David Bonomi blending this reserve, this wine stands as a fantastic expression of classic Argentine Malbec, made with the consumer in mind rather than the wine critic. The nose is bold and rich and filled with blackberries, strawberry jelly, star anise and nutmeg and burnt orange peel. The palate, thanks to a year in oak, has long and refined tannins and flavors of stewed black plum and blackberry and a dusting of black soil. Serve this with any kind of steak, roast beef, stew, or other hearty, earthy fare made for the first cold nights of fall.