Being as into wine as I am, I get into a lot of conversations about wine and I’ve noticed that there are a few names that come up time and time again.  One of those names is Layer Cake, and that’s particularly related to their Shiraz.  I meet people everywhere who are nuts about Layer Cake Shiraz.  And ironically, I have yet to taste it.

In addition to Shiraz, Layer Cake also produce Cabernet, Primitivo, Cotes du Rhone, and Malbec, all from different regions of the world.  Jayson Woodbridge is the force behind Layer Cake.  He’s also the owner of Hundred Acre wines, a high-end wine label based in Napa that sells wines starting at about $250 a bottle (that’s not a typo).  Layer Cake is much more affordable at $15 a bottle, and it’s still good wine.  It’s actually produced by same team that makes the Hundred Acre wines.

Each Layer Cake wine is grown, made, bottled and labeled in its country of origin before being shipped to the US.  So, this Malbec was produced in the Mendoza region of Argentina, just like every other Malbec I’ve reviewed.

One of the things I look for in a wine is intensity in the aromas. I would say that this Malbec has moderate intensity.  While I’d like it to have a touch more intensity, it’s still interesting.  It has a bit of a spicy nose, with black pepper, cedar and soy sauce.  The fruit is there too, mostly cherry, but it’s not very powerful.  However, the fruit comes to life on the palate, where it is downright jammy!  Heavy cherry and blackberry flavors coat your tongue and stay there for a long, syrupy finish.  At 14.9% ABV, the Layer Cake Malbec has the highest alcohol level of any of those we tasted for this series.  It also may be the jammiest, so if jammy is your thing you’ll want to check this one out.

Wine: Layer Cake
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14.9%
Rating: 85
Price: $15.00

Find Layer Cake Malbec with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.  Another Irrelevant Disclosure: Long John Silvers is a guilty pleasure of mine.