Monday is National Red Wine Day and so I have chosen to visit seven countries alphabetically to select the grape that they are each best known for.

Argentina means malbec and we all know that. Shortly after returning from my last trip to Argentina, I received a call from Bill Fischer, who was based here and involved with international business. He told me that he and a group of friends had founded a winery in Argentina. For some years now Burrows Lightbourn has stocked quite a wide range of their lovely wines. Their estate Malbec is 2020 Alpasión Malbec that sources its grapes from high in the Uco Valley. They use a gravity flow system to avoid pumping the wine, the yeasts are indigenous and they do not filter. Look for bright red, fresh fruit with light tannins, as it is the purest expression of their terroir. A hint of spice and fresh potted soil backed by a lively acidity and gentle tannins follow. It is extremely versatile in the glass and even tastier with a slight chill. $24.75 (Stock #8938).

The 2019 Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz from South Australia is a great example of a cool-climate version of this grape. It is a deep red with a nose that lets blackberry and mulberry fruit leap from the glass. Cedar, cinnamon and liquorice are there as well. Silky tannins with hints of graphite all add up to a creamy finish.

The Wine Advocate had this to say. “A regional style aged exclusively in French oak hogsheads (24 per cent new), the 2019 Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz hints at cracked pepper and cedar on the nose, backed by deep, plummy fruit and brighter notes of red raspberries. It’s medium-bodied (almost light, by Penfolds’s standards), framed by silky tannins and a lingering, elegant finish. Drinkable now, it has at least a decade of longevity ahead of it.” $60 (Stock #7218).

It would not have been possible to write this in 1993, as this was before DNA analysis revealed the truth. Up until then, for well over a century, the vineyard owners in Chile thought that they had merlot vines growing on their land. On a fateful November 24, 1994, a French ampelographer named Jean Michel Boursiquot explained that it was the almost extinct Carménère that was flourishing on their land. Now virtually dead in Bordeaux, it had been exported to Chile all those years ago and wrongly considered to be merlot. Now that it is left to properly ripen, and not picked early like merlot, it fares much better.

2017 Veramonte Reserva Carménère is produced from grapes grown in the Casablanca Valley and the flavours to look for are bell pepper, black plum, paprika, raspberry and vanilla. The tannins are gentler and softer than those in cabernet sauvignon and this is a medium-bodied wine. As Veramonte did not plant in this valley until the late 1990s, I am sure that there was never any confusion over which vine type they were working with. $19.95 (Stock #6168).

Virtually every grape in the book grows in France, but for this story I will pick 2018 Chateau La Forge Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, as at 92 per cent merlot it is quite typical of this grape that flourishes over on the eastern side of France. As mentioned earlier, it ripens early and so it can be picked before the cold winds of winter arrive from the east. At 1,500 to 2,000 cases a year this is a very limited production offering, bordering on what I would call a “garagiste wine”. Many of the thousands of Bordeaux properties make 15,000 or more cases a year.

It scores a whopping 95 points from Jeb Dunnuck alongside 93 points from Galloni, 92 points from The Wine Cellar Insider’s Jeff Leve and double 91 points from Vinous critic Neal Martin and The Wine Advocate’s Lisa Perrott-Brown. This is a beautiful example of the heights that merlot can ascend to. $62.75 (Stock #8320).

Sangiovese (chianti, Super-Tuscan, Brunello di Montalcino) is the king of Italian grapes in Tuscany, or if you are in Piedmont in the north then I am sure they would tell you that nebbiolo (barolo) reigns supreme. Today I have to go with the special brunello clone of Sangiovese and pick 2018 San Felice ‘Campogiovanni’ Brunello di Montalcino. Vinous writes, “remarkably beautiful with a fruit-driven bouquet of wild strawberries, sweet rose and cinnamon spice. It has a soft texture and lively acidity that gives it a juicy character, while peppery red berries and sweet herbal tones resonate”. With 95 points, The Wine Spectator comments: “Very sangiovese, this red combines both fruit and savoury elements, cherry, strawberry, hibiscus, wet hay, iron and tobacco, with a firm structure. Expressive, balanced, vibrant and long, with stiff tannins on the finish.” $62 (Stock #8976).

Tempranillo equals Spain, and Spain equals the 2019 CUNE Bela Estate Single Vineyard from region of Ribera del Duero. Look for high-intensity cherry-red colour with purple notes in the border, aromatic complexity where you'll find floral notes and red fruit such as currant and raspberry. All this softens and complements the fine notes of sweet spices and the nuances of the wood from the barrel (vanilla and clove). Suckling rates this vegan-friendly wine 92 points and says: “A ripe, soft-tannin red with plum and light chocolate. Some floral and orange-peel notes, too. Nicely framed. It’s medium-bodied with round tannins and a savoury finish”. $23.80 (Stock #9739).

We finish in the United States of America. Give us $42 and we will give you a bottle of 2019 Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel. Their winemaker tells us: “This vintage presents alluring aromatics of blackberry, boysenberry and fresh raspberry with notes of cocoa powder, cardamom, toasty cedar and nutmeg. On the palate, brambly layers of black cherry, blackberry and boysenberry come forward with nuances of coriander, marzipan and espresso. The wine is complex, with bright acidity complemented by a long, lingering finish. The tannins are structured, but soft, and lend a round, rich mouthfeel”. (Stock #6539).

• This column is a paid-for advertorial for Burrows Lightbourn Ltd written by Michael Robinson. He can be contacted at mrobinson@bll.bm. Burrows Lightbourn has stores in Hamilton (Front Street East. 295-1554) and Paget (Harbour Road, 236-0355). A selection of its wines, beers and spirits is available online at www.wineonline.bm