Jacob's
Creek, 35 years on
An in depth tasting of one of Australia's top wine brands
The 2011 vintage was the 35th birthday of
popular wine brand Jacob’s Creek. The first Jacob’s Creek wine,
a 1973 blend of Shiraz, Cabernet and Malbec (labelled as
‘Claret’), was released by wine company Orlando in 1976.
Now part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio,
the brand has been extended in recent years. First, two new tiers
were added: the Reserve range (in 2000) and the Three Vines series
(in 2007). The Three Vines didn’t really work, but the Reserve
Range, with its regional focus, has continued. Second, the Orlando
high-end wines—St Hugo, Steingarten and Johann—have been brought
under the Jacob’s Creek banner as the Heritage range. Third, the
last year has seen some innovative new additions to the portfolio.
The first of these innovations hit UK
supermarkets last year, and consists of a pair of Jacob’s Creek
Moscatos. These are white and pink Moscatos at 8% alcohol, aiming to
capitalize on the growing demand for this sort of easy to drink,
lighter style of wine. A corresponding pair of sparkling Moscatos
has also been added.
The newest innovation is the Cool Harvest
range, which is just going into the supermarkets now. These are
fresher, lighter wines with slightly lower alcohol levels, and they
are very smart indeed.
But the heart of this tasting was the
core range, including a look at how the wines have developed over
time. This was interesting: one of the wines of the evening was the
fabulous Jacob’s Creek Classic Shiraz Cabernet 1996, which has
aged beautifully. This is remarkable considering that this was just
a £5 wine at the time, made in large quantities. However, it was
just 12.5% alcohol; the current version is a bit riper.
In terms of winemaking, Jacobs Creek do
things the right way. They don’t rely on sweetness from grape
juice concentrate for their reds, unlike some of the other big
Australian brands: these wines are pretty much dry. And with oak
use, staves (or planks) are used for the cheaper wines, which they
treat themselves, and not oak chips or powder.
The wines were presented by Rebekah
Richardson, who is group winemaker for whites and sparkling wines.
Interestingly, in the classic range the
biggest selling wine has always been the Shiraz Cabernet. However,
this has just been overtaken by the Chardonnay, which might seem
surprising to some people. ‘People are going back to
Chardonnay,’ says Richardson. ‘They miss the generosity.’
THE
WINES
Jacob’s Creek Classic Riesling 2002
This is the largest-selling Riesling in Australia, known for its
value for money. The grapes come from Barossa, Langhorne Creek and
McLaren Vale. Fruity, bright and focused with some limey notes and a
bit of structure. Fine and fresh with life ahead of it. 89/100
Jacob’s Creek Classic Riesling 2006
A warm vintage. Very bright and fresh with taut, precise lemony
fruit. Expressive with some grapefruit notes. 88/100
Jacob’s Creek Classic Riesling 2011
11.5% alcohol. 60% Langhorne Creek this vintage. Fine, floral,
aromatic nose is crisp and bright. Taut, linear palate with bright
fruit. Very impressive. 89/100
Jacob’s Creek Classic Shiraz
Cabernet 1996
Cork sealed, 12.5% alcohol. Slightly leafy nose is elegant with
a hint of tar. Attractive berry fruits here with nice evolution. A
lovely drink. 90/100
Jacob’s Creek Classic Shiraz
Cabernet 2004
Cork sealed. 50% Shiraz. Nice sweet berry fruits. Quite open,
rich and bold with pure fruit. Warming, dense and vibrant with some
menthol notes. Impressive. 89/100
Jacob’s Creek Classic Shiraz
Cabernet 2009
58% Shiraz. Sweet open berry fruits. Lively with a slightly
green edge to the sweet berry fruit. Direct with nice fruit purity.
88/100 (£7.50 Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons, Booths)
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Barossa
Riesling 2011
51% Eden valley, 49% Barossa Valley floor. Fine, fresh, aromatic
and lemony. Very crisp and pure with lovely vivid high-acid lemony
fruit and some chalky minerality. 90/100 (£9.99 Tesco, Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Adelaide Hills
Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Quite sweet on the nose. Ripe, sweet grassy fruit on the palate.
Fresh, fruity and correct. Some pithiness. 86/100 (£9.99 Tesco,
Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Adelaide Hills
Chardonnay 2010
Very fresh and citrussy with lovely toasty richness. A bit sweet
on the palate with pear and peach fruit, plus a bit of oak
influence. Attractive. 89/100 (£9.99 Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Adelaide Hills
Pinot Noir 2010
Sweet, supple and berryish with nice fruit, and a savoury twist.
It’s accessible and sweet but also tastes like Pinot Noir. Stylish
effort for the price. 90/100 (£9.99 Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado,
Tesco)
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Coonawarra
Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Spends 15 days on its skins. 13.9% alcohol. Ripe, sweet, open
and seductive with berry fruits and a bit of grippy structure.
There’s some mintiness here, too. Sweet fruit profile. 88/100 (£9.99
Tesco, Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Barossa Shiraz
2008
A third French oak, two-thirds American oak. Sweet, rich, ripe
and a bit creamy with some vanilla notes. Structured and spicy with
nice fruit. Very ripe, but structured. 87/100 (£9.99 Tesco, Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling
2002 Barossa
Rich and intense with a citrussy nose showing some wax and
lanolin notes. The palate is rich and bold with good structure, some
toast and high acidity. Bold and dense with good structure and some
savouriness. 92/100
Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling
2005 Barossa
Rich and bold yet still quite fine. Dense citrus fruit here with
subtle toast and spice notes. Grippy structure and good acidity.
91/100
Jacob’s Creek Reeves Point
Chardonnay 2005 South Australia
Padthaway and Langhorne Creek fruit. Rich and bold, with notes
of fig and toast, as well as spicy oak. Fresh, intense, nutty and
deep: quite delicious. 92/100
Orlando St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon
1998 Coonawarra
100% French oak. Really elegant although it’s very ripe on the
nose with sweet blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Rich, bold, spicy
and vivid with good tannins. Square and angular still, but this has
lovely focus. 92/100
Jacob’s Creek St Hugo Cabernet
Sauvignon 2002 Coonawarra
Fine, slightly minty blackcurrant fruit nose. Bold, rich, vivid
palate with powerful blackcurrant fruit. Pure, structured and
intense but with some softness alongside the structure. 93/100
Jacob’s Creek St Hugo Cabernet
Sauvignon 2005 Coonawarra
Dense, intense and vivid with lovely focused blackcurrant fruit.
Good structure with some sweetness and nice definition. Fine and
expressive. 94/100
Jacob’s Creek Johann Shiraz Cabernet
2005 South Australia
60% Langhorne Creek Shiraz and 40% Coonawarra Cabernet. Dense,
robust, rich and spicy with some minty notes alongside the rich
blackcurrant and blackberry fruit. Really intense and powerful with
firm tannins and some spiciness. This needs time. 94/100
New
wines
Jacob’s Creek Cool Harvest
Vermentino 2011
9.5% alcohol. Laser-sharp, fresh and bright with fine acidity. A
bit pithy, but with real precision and fine citrus notes. There’s
a bit of carbon dioxide left here for freshness, and the 8 g/litre
sugar doesn’t show (juice added back). 87/100 (£8.49
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek Cool Harvest Sauvignon
Blanc 2011
10.5% alcohol. Very precise, bright and fresh with real
precision. A lively, crisp Sauvignon with real purity. Fresh with
nice intensity. 88/100 (£8.49 Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek Cool Harvest Shiraz Rosé
2011
Nice pink colour. Fruity and rounded with some sweetness. Grapey
with some cherry fruit. Hint of Turkish delight. Fresh. 84/100 (£8.49
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado)
Jacob’s Creek White Moscato 2011
65 g/l residual sugar, pH 3, 8% alcohol. Pithy, citrussy, grapey
nose is sweet and aromatic with crisp grapey fruit on the palate.
Precise, fresh and intense. Joyful. 85/100 (£7.49 Tesco)
Jacob’s Creek Sparling White Moscato
NV
9% alcohol, 80 g/litre residual sugar. Sweet, grapey and fizzy
with nice freshness. Maybe too sweet? 80/100
Jacob’s Creek Moscato Rosé 2011
A hint of strawberry and cherry fruit here. Sweet, grapey,
fruity and quite delicious. 83/100 (£7.49 Tesco)
Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Moscato Rosé
NV
Fruity and a bit herby with some cherry fruit, as well as ripe
grapes. Nice sweetness here. 82/100
See
also:
Interview
with Bernard Hickin, chief winemaker, Jacob's Creek
Jacob's
Creek Steingarten vertical
Wines
tasted 01/12
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
Back
to top
|