Layer Cake Malbec Review

Layer Cake Malbec is a red wine that comes from Layer Cake Wines and goes through an interesting journey on the way from vine to glass.

Be sure to check out my suggested food pairing at the end of this review.

It begins its journey as fruit on vines along the Mendoza River in Argentina where the grapes are allowed to ripen thoroughly.  The fruit is harvested four to six weeks after the harvest in other nearby vineyards to give the wine its unique quality.  Harvesting, de-stemming and sorting is all done by hand.

From there the fruit is imported by Plata Wine Partners in Napa, California where the winemaking is done.

Finally, bottling is done by One True Vine in Napa and the wine is distributed for purchase.

Layer Cake Malbec Tasting

I shared the 2013 vintage of this wine with a friend who helped me out with this review.  You’ll see we had a few differing opinions about this wine.

Appearance

In the glass Layer Cake Malbec is dark grape to purple in color.  Think Concord Grape jelly.

Reflections from the light are ruby red in color.

Legs are many, slow to form, wide spaced and slow to fall.

Aroma

The wine’s aroma is noticeable from far away with the scent of black cherry being predominate.  Up close you get a combination of cranberry, candy and some spice, making it a very unique and enjoyable nose.

Very little alcohol is noted in the aroma.

Layer Cake Malbec alcohol content 14.5% by volume, per the bottle.

Taste

My friend and I sensed different elements in the wine’s taste.

For me it was a nutty flavor combined with red fruits (including raspberry) and some clove.

For him it was red fruits (primarily cranberry) and an overall sweetness on the roof of the mouth.

According to the wine’s tasting notes, you may also notice fresh blackberries, simmering chocolate sauce and bacon.

Mouthfeel and Tannins

We also differed in our opinions of the wine’s mouthfeel.  I called it “linen” versus his opinion which was “silky.”

The reason why I couldn’t agree with silky was because of the wine’s tannins.  I felt they were quite noticeable all over the palate.  My friend said they were just somewhat noticeable and only on the middle of the tongue.

Finish

Where we both came to agreement was on the wine’s finish.  It was medium in duration and carried by the tannins.

Overall Opinion

Overall, my friend deemed this wine as “OK.”

I enjoyed this wine and felt it brought some great complexity and juicy layers to the tasting experience.  I would certainly drink it again.

Layer Cake Malbec price $13.99.

Suggested Food Pairing

One of the features of Honest Wine Reviews that I’m proud of is the extra value that I try to offer to subscribers.  Subscribers get special Wine Tips emailed to them that are in addition to what can be found here on the website.

If you would like to join us, you can get instant access right below this review.

I recently asked (and will continue to ask) subscribers what they would like to know more about when it comes to wine.

A great suggestion that came in (Thanks Bonnie!) was to provide more unique food pairings to go along with the wines.  So, beginning with this review, you can expect to see more suggested food pairings and recipes.

Here we go…  For this juicy Malbec, consider pairing it with a spicy steak tip salad with blue cheese dressing.  Spice the steak up with your favorite spices or marinade (how about some Chile powder?) and serve it on top of some fresh cut greens with the dressing.

I like to toss all of that, including the meat, with the dressing but that doesn’t look as nice on the plate.  But it does cool down the spice nicely, in my opinion.

To add some more pizzazz to it, throw in some spicy grilled shrimp or even some hard boiled egg slices to make it a chef salad.

That’s my suggestion…  What food or recipe do you suggest to go along with a juicy Malbec?

Feel free to leave a reply below.