The 1995 Imagery Series Malbec, which is produced from Alexander Valley's Blue Rock Vineyard, will not make California's premier Malbec producer (Dick Arrowood of Arrowood Winery) jealous, but it is a good effort. The nose possesses sweet red currant and raspberry scents, as well as a touch of herbs and earth. This soft, grapy Malbec is a pleasant, plump yet refreshing wine that should drink well for 3-4 years. Tel. (800) 989-8890 Fax (707) 935-3018

This winery continues to turn out attractive wines that are made to be drunk within a few years of release. Benziger's 1991 Malbec Imagery Series is complex and intriguing. Outside of Argentina, it is rare today to find Malbec standing on its own. Certainly no one produces it any more in Bordeaux and the best Malbecs today emanate from some of Argentina's old vineyards in the Mendoza Valley. Benziger's Malbec exhibits the elegant, floral, curranty, penetrating fragrance of this underrated varietal. In the mouth it is all finesse, with its soft, supple, medium-bodied, creamy texture, and rich fruit flavors. There is nothing heavy, tannic, or overbearing about this stylish, fragrant, persuasive example of Malbec. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. Tel. (707) 935-3000 (Glen Ellen Winery)