The Layer Cake is BACK!

We became big fans of this wine last year. In fact, I was just thinking about it over Thanksgiving and today I got the following e-mail from Crush Wine & Spirits. If you like really big, jammy reds- CHECK IT OUT. Even better, stop by Crush in person and pick yourself up a couple bottles. It's our favorite shop. (Food & Wine Magazine named it "Best New Wine Store In America" in 2005) Worth checking out next time you're in midtown. . .

2006 Layer Cake - The New Vintage of our Most Popular Shiraz, EVER! JUST ARRIVED!

The Secret Behind Layer Cake

Those of you who have sampled the highly sought after Hundred Acre know Jayson Woodbridge achieves such incredible results through a "money is no object, I just want to make the best damn wine possible" philosophy.Woodbridge has quietly and miraculously made a deal on the ultra-prime vineyards in the "Golden Mile." Located in the heart of the Barossa Valley, grapes from this hallowed parcel of land are selected for Australia's first and foremost collectible wine, Penfold's Grange ($200 - $700).Layer Cake starts in the vineyard with sustainable farming of the highest quality fruit from low-yield vines - 3-4 tons per acre as opposed to 7-8 tons almost everywhere else in the valley!The "Draconian" grape selection process is matched only by the fastidious attention to detail and uncompromising commitment to quality in the winery.

Where in the World:

Barossa Valley - Located 1 hour north of Adelaide in the state/territory of South Australia, the Barossa Valley is the most famous wine region in the country.Barossa is home to the famous Penfold's Grange, which broke the Australian wine scene with its first vintage in 1951 and historically has been known as the benchmark age-worthy Australian Shiraz.Despite the fact that Phylloxera ravaged other parts of the country in the late 1870s, Barossa vines were never infected.The valley itself is 40 kilometers (24 miles) in length and is filled with gently rolling hills. Because Australia is in the southern hemisphere its seasons are reversed and the harvest begins in March and continues into April.Settled in 1842 by immigrants of Prussia and Silesia, the name Barossa comes from the Australian Colonel William Light who took the name from the Spanish Barrosa Beach, the location of an Anglo-Spanish v. French battle in the early 1800s Peninsular War.

Layer Cake may be the most popular (and undervalued) Australian Shiraz ever.We featured the 2005 vintage in an email about a year ago and the response was overwheming. What was truly amazing was the incredible number of customers who must be called: Layer Cake Fanatics! While we are used to repeat orders, customers came back 3, 4 and 5 times to restock this Australian anomaly!Through the course of the year, Layer Cake has only gained momentum. Though the last vintage sold out sometime in the early Spring, the calls continued to roll in and customer reservations totalled in the hundreds of bottles - really just on the hope that a 2006 vintage would be produced! For a while it was not clear whether "The Cake," as the staff affectionately calls it, would be a one-off for New World Genius Jayson Woodbrige, or an ongoing project.About a month ago we received word that the 2006 was a reality - the "Layer Cake Nation" rejoices!