[1] A popular but unconfirmed theory claims that Malbec is named after a Hungarian peasant who first spread the grape variety throughout France.

[5] It ripens mid-season and can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavor component which adds complexity to claret blends.

[6] Malbec is very susceptible to various grape diseases and viticultural hazards—most notably frost, coulure, downy mildew, and rot— but the development of new clones and vineyard management techniques have helped control some of these potential problems.

[7] Malbec is also grown in Washington State, the Rogue and Umpqua regions of Oregon, the Grand Valley AVA of Colorado, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, British Columbia, the Long Island AVA of New York, southern Bolivia, Peru, northeastern Italy and recently in Texas and southern Ontario, Virginia, and in the Baja California region of Mexico.

At one point Malbec was grown in 30 different departments of France, a legacy that is still present in the list of local synonyms for the variety, which easily surpasses 1000 names.

In recent times, however, the popularity of the variety has been steadily declining with a 2000 census reporting only 15,000 acres (6,100 hectares) of the vine, which are mostly consigned to the southwestern part of the country.

[3] Though the grape was historically a major planting in Bordeaux, providing color and fruit to its blends, in the 20th century it started to lose ground to Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

The severe 1956 frost wiped out a significant portion of Malbec vines in Bordeaux, allowing many growers a chance to start anew with different varieties.

[3] While acreage of the Malbec is declining in France, in Argentina the grape is surging and has become a "national variety" of a sort that is uniquely identified with Argentine wine.

The grape was first introduced to the region in the mid 19th century when provincial governor Domingo Faustino Sarmiento instructed the French agronomist Michel Pouget to bring grapevine cuttings from France to Argentina.

[10] During the economic turmoil of the 20th century, some plantings of Malbec were pulled out to make way for the jug wine producing varieties of Criolla Grande and Cereza.

[3] The Mendoza region is the leading producer of Malbec in Argentina with plantings found throughout the country in places such as La Rioja, Salta, San Juan, Catamarca and Buenos Aires.

This suggests that the cuttings brought over by Pouget and later French immigrants were a unique clone that may have gone extinct in France due to frost and the phylloxera epidemic.

[20][21][22][23] High-altitude Mendoza has attracted many notable foreign winemakers, such as Paul Hobbs, Michel Rolland, Herve Joyaux-Fabre, Roberto Cipresso and Alberto Antonini.

[24][25][26][27] Although Carménère is the emblematic strain of Chilean wine and other varieties of strains such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot noir among others are harvested in the country, Malbec has experienced exponential growth in its production during the last decades, due to the discovery of hundred-year-old vines of the variety, as well as the year-on-year increase in hectares planted for its exclusive production in the country.

Prior to Prohibition in the United States, Malbec was a significant variety in California used mainly for blended bulk wine production.

[7] Elsewhere in Washington State, Malbec is planted in the Lake Chelan AVA where it has consistently produced wines of exceptional quality.

In 2016 a budget-priced La Moneda Reserve Malbec from the UK supermarket chain Asda won the Platinum Best in Show prize in a blind tasting at the Decanter World Wine awards.

[3] Other regions with some plantings of Malbec include Northern Italy,[3] New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, British Columbia, Ontario, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Southern Indiana, and Israel.

Wine expert Jancis Robinson describes the French style of Malbec common in the Libournais (Bordeaux region) as a "rustic" version of Merlot, softer in tannins and lower in acidity with blackberry fruit in its youth.

[1] Oz Clarke describes Cahors' Malbec as dark purple in color with aromas of damsons, tobacco, garlic, and raisin.

Malbec grapes grown in the glacial soils found within the Lake Chelan AVA produce wines possessing ripe raspberry - black fruit aromas and flavors with moderate acidity and tannins.