Layer Cake

After a late night of work when my mind was still alert from intense forecasting through midnight, I decided to enjoy a glass of wine to wind down the evening. "Layer Cake" stood out on my shelf with its prominant label featuring a layered cake smack on the front! It gave me the impression that this would be a warm and lusicous wine that would fit the moment.

As I poured the 100% Primitivo wine, I noticed a very inky black-purple red hue. It's aroma reminded me of dark chocolate infused with black currant.

Layer Cake represents the winemaker, Jayson Woodbridge's grandfather's philosophy, that "the soils in which the vines lived were a layer cake. If properly made, the wine from these vines was like a delicious cake layered with fruit, mocha and chocolate, with hints of spice and rich, always rich", as quoted on the bottle's label. Just like life! I thought. Layers that make it complex, yet it all comes together, a bit of spice, always changing, always rich.

Tasting notes

Layer Cake Primitivo, 2006

Supple blackcurrant and black cherry aromas layered into dark chocolate. A rich wine with hints of earth and finish of cayenne spice. Layers are distinct yet gracefully entwined.

About Primitivo

Can anyone say Zinfandel? Or Crljenak? Primitivo is grown in Manduria of Puglia, Italy, and was recently discovered to be the identical varietal to Zinfandel, and Crljenak Kastelanski (a Croatian grape) through DNA profiling by geneticist Dr. Carole Meredith of University of California, Davis. The breakthrough led the TTB to allow Primitivo and Zinfandel to be defined synonymous in April 2002. The soils of Manduria, Italy's "Heel", are of red clay and that of an ancient sea bed. Primitivo vines bathe in Puglia's warm and sunny climate that contributes to the origin of the grape's name for its early maturity. Vines are known for their vigor and resiliance to disease, allowing for vines over 100 years old!