Mention Argentina and wine, and the first word to any oenophile’s mind will be “malbec.” Argentina’s success with its signature red grape over the past decade has been astounding and could be a case study for marketing classes. Argentina’s wine exports to the United States have surpassed Chile’s, and Cahors, the French appellation that relies on the grape, has defied French convention by putting its name on labels and branding its wine as “the French malbec.”

Well, surprise – Argentina has much more to offer than just malbec. Think fresh, elegant cabernet sauvignon; plummy, earthy syrah; and juicy bonarda. Most exciting may be Argentina’s pinot noir, including some delicious examples that prove once and for all that pinot does not have to be expensive to be good. (For this column, I’ll stick to red wines, though I’m partial to the aromatic whites made from the torrontes grape.)

These…