I had thought I'd cleaned my cellar of malbec a few months ago when that grape was a Focus topic, but I discovered two un-inventoried WA versions in my cellar last week. Immediately opened a 2013 Obelisco, and the fruit had faded. Obelisco is a winery who makes big-bodied, "hedonistic fruit" style wines; I wasn't surprised that the malbec didn't go the distance.
Then last weekend friends brought a 2017 Obscurity Cellars Malbec Estate Geoff and Katy Vineyard from California's Fair Play district to dinner. Big and sweet with lavish oak. Not what I usually go for but it adds heft and commitment to what has proven to otherwise be, for me, a boring grape.
That bottle didn't get finished, so a few days later I opened the other un-inventoried malbec to compare with it. I remembered this wine having abundant acidity and thought it likely to have fared better at aging than the Obelisco.
2013 William Church Malbec Gamache Vineyard Columbia Valley
Prominent acidity finally backs off about two hours in; highly recommend decanting. No secondary development or even the hint of same, so rather boring for a nearly ten year old wine. Didn't enjoy it a bit. It's malbec, a grape I've realized I'm always going to find boring. Meh.
