The story of malbec is an epic that begins in south-west France, and takes in vine plagues, medieval trade wars and a long struggle for recognition. Then it switches gears into a classic new-world rags-to-riches tale that concludes with the variety finally securing global fame from a lofty perch in vineyards in the Andes in western Argentina.

Until relatively recently I wouldn’t have said the wines made from this itinerant grape variety were quite as exciting as their origin story. The initial wave of malbecs to emerge from Argentina were certainly appealing. They had an innate plum and black cherry fleshiness, a mouthfilling plumpness and generosity that made them very easy to drink.

But they lacked that extra something – complexity, longevity, depth – that would have placed them among the world’s best wines. There was an interchangeability to the rows of malbec lined up in the supermarkets. More expensive bottles tended to over-reach, ladling on the oak and over-ripening the fruit.

Argentinian malbec remains the king of soft, reliable and affordable reds – which is why it is such a success in the UK. What’s changed in the past five years is the wine-making has become more sensitive, playing up what I think are the variety’s claims to greatness: an aromatic prettiness featuring floral and herbal as well as berry-fruited notes, combined with that fleshy mid-palate and a pinot-noir-like silkiness.

This is the result of the efforts that leading producers – from big names such as Catena to rising stars such as the Michelini Brothers – have put in to understanding the effects of the combination of soil, exposition and different degrees of altitude on these lofty vineyards. This is at its most advanced in what is the country’s most exciting region: the Uco valley in Mendoza, where sub-zones such as Gualtallary, Paraje Altamira and Vista Flores are creating an Andean answer to Burgundy’s famously filigree patchwork of vineyards. But you can see it, too, further north in the even more extreme altitudes of Salta province, and on the lower-lying terrain of Patagonia.

There has been similar progress, albeit on a smaller scale, back in the vineyards that follow the bends of the River Lot around Cahors in south-west France, while Chile is increasingly getting the hang of the grape. The wilderness years are over, then, but the malbec epic has only really just begun.

Six of the best malbecs

Château du Cèdre Camille Malbec, France 2017 (from £9.85, josephbarneswines.com; bottleapostle.com)
One of Cahors’ best and longest-established producers, Château du Cèdre here shows off malbec in its most fragrantly attractive, pretty and succulent mode, with an unoaked style that positively sings with pure cherry, plum and violets.

Co-op Irresistible Bío Bío Malbec, Bío Bío, Chile 2016 (£7.95, The Co-op)
Malbec came to Chile before Argentina, but has only recently started to make its presence felt on the western side of the Andes, with Viña Indomita’s textured, chocolatey, fragrant example one of the best value wines made from the variety.

Domaine de la Pépière La Pépie Côt, Vin de Pays du Val de Loire, France 2017 (from £13.99, thesmilinggrape.com; lescaves.co.uk)
From a producer “right on the edge of Brittany”, this is malbec grown at its most northerly limits, where south-facing slopes provide enough sun to produce a joyfully brisk and crunchy style with a red berry and currant-scented succulence.

BEST BUY
Matias Riccitelli Hey Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina 2017 (£12.99, or £10.99 as part of a mixed case of six bottles, majestic.co.uk)
Matias Riccitelli is one of the brightest winemaking sparks in Argentina, and here he shows his skill in a classic, accessible style with full-flavoured palate-coating dark fruit and a kiss of cherry-bakewell oak and chocolate. Good value.

Altos Las Hormigas Terroir Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 2016 (£15.99, Waitrose)
Led by globetrotting Tuscan wine consultant Alberto Antonini, Altos Las Hormigas has been an important force in the Argentinian malbec revolution, and its wines just get better and better: this is beautifully polished, poised and plush.

Familia Zuccardi Poligonos dell Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina 2016 (£16, Morrisons)
Young buck winemaker Sebastián Zuccardi has built on his father’s legacy to make some of the most elegant and balanced high-altitude malbecs (and other red wines) in Argentina, such as this superbly fine-grained beauty.