STAR SELECTIONS:  2006 Cocodrilo Cabernet Sauvignon ($17) California winemaker Paul Hobbs founded his Argentine winery in 1991, and makes impressive wines in both the United States and Argentina, among them this black tea–scented Cabernet.

Vina Cobos co-owner Andrea Marchiori tightens her smile ever so slightly as she eyes my pant leg and shoe, now spattered with the oxygenated blood purple of malbec wine. By Ian Mount

The cooler months call for deep, red wines to be savored slowly, or, for the disciplined among us, collected and aged. By Anthony Dias Blue

It's not a wine for wimps, but its powerful, concentrated fruit and structured, oaky tannins are impressive

Is his 2003 Vina Cobos Cobos Marchiori Vineyard Mendoza Malbec worth the price? Let's just say it earned four stars on our four star rating system...

Californian Paul Hobbs is coaxing world-class wines from Argentina's improbable soil. And he's already eyeing the next frontier. By Corie Brown.