*Bottle #2: Layer Cake Barossa Valley 2006 Shiraz
*Price: $16
*Running Tab: $28
I found this little number at the trendy deep south Seattle Verve Wine Bar and Cellar. Kate, the sommelier and co-owner, coaxed me with promises of confections and a picture of a cake on the label. Yup, proud owner of a sweet tooth.
Kudos to the winemaker and his story on the back of the label detailing his grandfather's love of wine as a layered cake. "The cake with fruit, mocha and chocolate, hints of spice and rich, always rich,"reflects the winemaker of his patriarch.
My impressions of the shiraz were just a bit let down after reading the passionate description a la connoisseur. I'm pinpointing the bottle, at a 2006 vintage, was a little too young and with a lackluster richness that Grandpa Layer Cake was shooting for. However, I found the wine to have a lovely bouquet... You know, it smelt awesome. I swear, I could detect multiple things in the glass, none of which I could really put my finger on until tasting...
I took a wine class a couple weeks ago and the sommelier told us a wine's taste is however you personally find it. So I'm slowly learning how to cook (as in not from a cookbook) and I'm pretty sure I found some nutmeg in this guy. Plum was the most distinct flavor I got with the tannins and the fruit holding a solid balance, which was surprising for me because I thought it'd be more tannic, being a shiraz. Still, no mouth drying or bitterness that I usually gain from tannic, fuller bodied wines.
Overall, I found the Layer Cake to be very cutting edge. The label was intriguing and Kate whistled my tune in her romance of the wine. The bottle did not go wasted nor was it a buzz not worth the while but I'll be over it by next week.
Score: 5.
2 comments:
mmmmmmm cake. I don't drink wine but you talking about a wine that tastes like cake makes me hungry. :)
This wine entices many with its promise of chocolate and fruit. For some drinkers, it satiates this desire, but for most it offers a simple, big red with a few postive attributing flavors and very little to think about. For the extra $$ I would go with Mitolo's Jester Shiraz or even better, Terra Rouge's Syrah. Happy Drinking!
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