Literally, one more. This was the last malbec in my cellar.
2014 Crocus Cahors l'Atelier Malbec
Last of six bottles purchased long ago and sadly the first of that batch I actually enjoyed. Would never be a favorite or anything, but at least it has evolved into a good place and didn't have that VA that shows up in so many malbecs. Black raspberries, smoke (but not toasted oak, more like sunburnt grapes), oil-cured black olives, asphalt, violets. Didn't decant but it definitely improved with air.
Malbec is such a conundrum. Bob, served blind, deftly intuited that it wasn't cabernet, CF, merlot, or syrah so he guessed zinfandel even while acknowledging that it didn't really taste like zinfandel. Thing is, we just don't have any reference point for malbec. We drink it but even when we don't hate it, like this one, we don't love it or desire to have more.