My first memorable encounter with South American wine was during a vacation to Banff, Canada. We had just returned to the Château Lake Louise after a steep hike to the summit of Saddleback Mountain and settled into a bar with a wall of glass overlooking the Plain of Six Glaciers.

This was years before I ever imagined I would have a career in wine. I blindly ordered a Valdivieso Cabernet Franc from Chile. We returned to that bar twice more, polishing off the last two bottles they had, blissfully unaware that we had stumbled onto something off the beaten path.

While the Valdivieso was a Chilean wine, the truth is, over the decades, Argentina has emerged as an extraordinary source of Cabernet Franc, arguably surpassing Chile in the quality and diversity of its finest examples. Much of it finds its way into a variety of red blends, but when bottled on its own, it can be a stunning, varietally true expression of the grape. These wines offer the aromatic complexity, savory character, and elegance that even the most discerning Cabernet Francophile will appreciate—often at a mere fraction of the price one might expect.

The San Carlos Cabernet Franc is super elegant, fresh, varietally expressive, nuanced, and complex.  It leads with aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa powder, tobacco and black fruits. The palate is plush and lusciously textured, concluding with a vibrant finish of mint and eucalyptus and a touch of the sweet concentration displayed on the palate. — Wine Advocate, May 2025