Like a breakaway rider in the Tour de France, Malbec has pulled away from the pack. It is the darling of the wine world, and it’s left the competition choking on its dust. We’ve seen this kind of rampant popularity before, however, and eventually, all these super-hot trends tend to get swallowed up by the pack.

Take shiraz, for instance. Australia stormed into the Canadian market in the mid 1990s, with impressive and flavourful wines that sold for far less than their competitors. Suddenly, everyone was drinking shiraz, and there were dozens of great examples waiting to be discovered. Soon, however, the market was flooded with innocuous, cleverly packaged wines, and consumers slowly became disenchanted. Before that, Merlot had its 15 minutes of fame, and again, what started out as good value, quality wines quickly became a race to mass-market substandard versions. Today, we have Malbec — the vast majority of which comes from the Mendoza region of Argentina. There are a few examples from Chile, and lingering selections from Malbec’s homeland in southwest France, Cahors, but Argentina is definitely at the epicenter of this varietal revolution.

Malbec never really had a golden age in France, it was a second-string blending grape in Bordeaux, and the wines of Cahors never made it out of the cafés of Paris. At present, Argentina has 20,000 hectares of Malbec planted — four times that of France. Unlike the French, the Argentineans seem determined to shape their identity around it. Surprisingly, Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine on the planet, but is only the 13th biggest exporter. In other words, they like a drink. In the past, most of the wine produced in Argentina was not fit for export, but with some aggressive investment in the mid 1990s, all that has changed.

Malbec has emerged quickly, becoming a leading category for consumers in most North American markets. Its many strengths make me believe it can be more than just the flavour of the week. The combination of rich, soft and exotic wines at relatively low prices has captured the imaginations of wine consumers. Importers are scrambling to find new producers all the time. So far, the standard has remained high and most examples you see are well worth the money. Let’s hope it stays that way it would be a shame to see these character wines go the way of the branded Merlots and shirazes that are yesterday’s news.

When a single grape grabs as much market share as Malbec, larger producers are often tempted to exploit it. So what starts out as a great value can quickly turn into an influx of dismal wine. For now, the future for Argentine Malbecs looks bright, but with a hungry peloton of nations chasing them down, staying out in front will be tough going.

A short list of some great examples of Malbec:

• 2007 Joffre Pasion 4 Malbec, $17 — plump and delicious with hints of raspberry and plum.

• 2008 Joffre Pasion 4 Malbec Rosé, $17 — Malbec makes great rosé. Wild strawberry and spice make this perfect with salmon.

• 2006 Bodega Azul Malbec, $19 — chunky and rich with aromas of smoked meat.

• 2007 Sur de los Andes Malbec, $16 — fresh, polished and bright — easy and fun.

• 2007 Bodegas Goulart Glam Malbec-Cabernet, $18 — wild notes of spice and game meat, good structure and depth — steak wine.