The bottle is taller than most, and the label is a sophisticated deep purple with an etched silver logo of a framed image of the mountains in Mendoza, Argentina. Script letters spell out “Reserva” and you know it’s got to be good. This is a bottle of Don Miguel Gascon 2011 Reserva Malbec. Although it is priced at $25, you could probably find a bottle for $19, according to my Vivino app, that is.

I love the Vivino app that automatically rates wines simply from a picture you take of the label using your iPhone. This reserve malbec received a 3.8 star rating out of 5, and some of the review comments included:

– dry with light fruit afternote

– ripe flavorful fruits upfront with a dark chocolate finish. Easy drinking malbec.

– Very fruity

I agree with the fact that this is an easy drinking malbec (with 3% petit verdot), as you don’t need to drink it with food. It’s a good standalone. Globally, this wine ranked 304,417 out of 1,963,762 in the Vivino rating, with a high ranking of its winery, wine region and country. It notes food pairings of beef, spicy food, mature and hard cheese and poultry.

Another wine I tried was the Don Miguel Gascon 2012 malbec ($15), which is 100% malbec grapes from Mendoza, and intense with aromas of dark berry, plum and maybe even some mocha. Taste-wise, you can feel some spice, licorice and chocolate leading to a delightful long, velvet finish.

Go Garcon!

Cookout season is in full swing and if you’re the lucky host, you should be receiving lots of host gifts in bottle form. So, whether you’re a host or a lucky guest, here are two really great choices to ensure you’ll be invited back next year:

1) Frei Brothers Reserve 2011 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($22.99)
This is a wine worthy of applause. So spectacular is this Russian River Valley gem, you’ll want to stock up before it’s gone for good. Made with grapes from the cool climate of the Valley’s vineyards, this wine is bright in color and rich with cherry and black fruit flavors. It’s got depth, and that’s a good thing.

2) Frei Brothers Reserve 2011 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($22.99)
There are more bottles of this wine on the shelves, so it’s not as urgent to stock up, but you’ll want to grab a bottle or two whenever you see this smooth cab from California’s Alexander Valley.

What’s even more special about Frei Brothers wines is that they are produced with eco-friendliness in mind. They have reduced their electricity enough to power 20 homes for an entire year; they’ve reduced their water use enough to supply 54 homes for a year, and their goal is to use half of the propane, which is the equivalent to removing 80 vehicles from the road in a year.

It’s all about the earth in mind when this wine is being produced, and it’s funny because when you taste it, all you think about is the terroir of earthy, richness that comes out in flavors so elegant and smooth, your mood is sure to lift off into a feel of luxury when you enjoy a glass given to you — merely because you wanted to host a cookout.