BellaVino

Layer Cake Malbec

Mendoza, Argentina

Vineyard Notes:  The fruit for Layer Cake Malbec comes from a vineyard that is flanking the Mendoza River in Argentina; a rocky terrain, strikingly similar to that of Chateauneuf du Pape in the Rhône Valley.

The once 5 mile wide Mendoza River is now mostly vineyard, abundant with some of Argentina’s most pristine Malbec vines.  A plethora of smooth cobble on the top bewilders the eye and imagination as to how the vines actually thrive in such a rugged terrain.  Clay and gravel make up the subsoil under the larger cobble forcing each vine to compete for nutrition; the result is a wine profoundly concentrated and rich, “always rich”.

Climate:  The climate is quite similar to that of the Napa Valley. Warm days are followed by cool evenings as the maritime breezes make it through the Andes Mountain ranges down to Mendoza Valley floor.

Winemaker Notes:  We allow Layer Cake Malbec to ripen thoroughly on the vine.  This, our first vintage Layer Cake Malbec, was harvested nearly a month to six weeks after all
other neighboring vineyards; a crucial element to the wine’s quality.  Each cluster, once harvested by hand, is then destemmed and sorted – also by hand.

Tasting Notes: Pure, rich and very elegant; a powerhouse of lush black fruit, silky cocoa, black spice and cream, wrapped around blackberry, cherry and ripe plum.  Layered and complex with a nose to linger over, a finish that never ends.  Sweet anise, hints of tobacco, black chocolate, more cherries and exotic spices, layers of jam.  This wine will stand and perform anytime you think of a Cabernet and want something just a little more exotic.  Born at the base of the Andes and fed by the purest spring waters…I love this wine.

Wine Facts:

• 100% Mendoza, Argentina
• 100% Malbec
• 80% stainless steel fermented; 20% in used Hundred Acre barrels exported to Argentina.
• Alc. 13.9%
• Bottled January 2008