WINE WEDNESDAY - Jacob's Creek Classic Shiraz 2016

Yoyoyoyoyoyo! For those of you that are returning to read again: THANKS!  I hope you find this as useful or entertaining as I find it fun!  For those that are first-timers this is the weekly segment where I give wine tips and taste a bottle within my friends’ budgets and generally available in the NOVA area.  I have already gone through the tough trials of initiation into the snobby world of wine and am here to make your transition far easier.

Last week I did a bit of a black sheep varietal but I am bringing it back to the wheelhouse today with my FAVORITE red wine: SHIRAZ (say it with an Aussie accent).  If you are wondering why it is my favorite I will direct you back to my Featured Tasting of Fox Creek’s Shiraz: a nicer bottle of the varietal that showed me a different side of red wine.  Since then I have loved basically every bottle of Shiraz I have tasted.

Today's #WineWednesday bottle is also creek related: Jacob’s Creek “Classic” (???) Shiraz 2016.

Here's the creek!

Winery: Jacob’s Creek
Grapes: Shiraz (Syrah)
Region: South Eastern Australia
Country: Australia (lol ^^^ new world wine is easy)
Vintage: 2016
Price: $5 Sale from $10

(Sometimes grocery stores especially will raise the price then put it on “sale” to make you think you’re getting a great deal.  Tread lightly with seemingly huge savings and get the vivino app if you want a quick reference.  This happened to be a pretty good deal!)

Background: South Eastern Australia is exactly what you’d think it is…south, east, and Australia.  The (super) wine region encompasses parts of the provinces of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia (yes, Australia doesn’t care to give cool names to the areas of their country that are mainly outback).  Inside South Eastern Australia there are smaller, more prestigious wine regions.  If you know Australian wine, perhaps name drops like Clare Valley and McLaren Vale ring some bells.  Now, Jacob’s Creek is a label whose vineyards originally bordered…Jacob’s Creek.  WOAH.  For those interested it is north of the city of Adelaide and home to their visitor center in Barossa.  Since then they have purchased more land and become a large-scale operation.  The Shiraz in this bottle is mostly from Barossa as their other holdings in Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra have terroir (an all-encompassing French term for soil and climate) that doesn’t cater as well to Shiraz in their opinion.  Since the label doesn’t say Barossa but rather South Eastern Australia, you can bet they brought in some grapes from vineyards in other regions to blend with their own supply.

Jacob's Creek vineyards. The pin is Barossa.

Shiraz/Syrah is kinda blue.
This is why the wine is kinda purple in color.

Now a bit about the grape!  Shiraz is the name given to Syrah grown in Australia (and occasionally in South Africa).  Syrah is a French grape made most famous from wines in the northern Rhone Valley.  Hermitage (some of the most expensive wine in the world), and the GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blends of southern France use this grape as a basis for making great wine.  The name change is somewhat of a mystery but my bet is some outback homeboy Australian tried explaining it to his “mate” morphing “Syrah is…” into “Shiraz” with his drawl and accent.  The wine makers decided to roll with it and continue to make tons of money today off this misunderstanding.

My Review: Now the main event.  I decided to try a technique called decanting on this wine.  Usually decanting is a must for expensive, age-worthy wines to allow “breathing time” for the wine to “gather itself” and catch any sediment that falls out of the liquid after its long slumber in the cellar.  Long story short I heard decanting cheaper wine can also help it to express itself better and decided to try.  Though I caution to only decant wine that you plan on drinking NOW or within 24 hrs or so as the huge influx of oxidation starts the natural vinegar-ization process of wine off with a bang.  This is where you realize wine is very complex and can be described as a sentient being in some ways.

Here’s a vid of me decanting the wine.  Get a decanter from the thrift store and do it next time to impress your friends!  Shout out to mom for filming.  If it doesn't work I shared the vid here.  I am still trying to figure out the best technique for embedding videos.

Sniffy Sniff: Ripe red fruit, licorice, forest floor, smoldering French oak, red clay soil, shaving cream…JKLOL<3 😅.  1) These are some terms I have heard sommeliers use in movies to sound impressive that I sometimes break out to have a laugh.  2) If I got that much from a cheap bottle of wine then we got a deal for the ages at Harris Teeter.

Nose (on the real tho): Definitely berries: a healthy mix in the range of raspberry to blackberry. A whiff of alcohol.  A sorta fireplace thing (wood and spice).  Maybe a hint of (bell) pepper on the end.

Taste: Mmmmmm I like Shiraz and it’s a good time of year for your favorite red wine.  I hear snow could be coming Friday.  The smell is definitely more complex than the taste.  I would say the most prevalent thing is a sort of gritty, sandy tannin structure that has a hint of what I love about Shiraz: the tannins are creamy and slightly vanilla flavored.  Medium body like 1-2% milk in my humble estimation.  Acid is noticeable.  Pretty dry.  Spices abounding (one that comes to mind is cinnamon).  What I don’t like is there is not too much fruit on the forefront despite that being so in the sniff.  THIS WINE IS A LIAR.  Still there is enough lingering on the back of the taste that it keeps the experience enjoyable.

Overall not bad and an absolute steal for $5.  Incredible complex smell (probs cuz of decanting).  The fact that I’m drinking it at the right time of year plays a positive role.  I would say it definitely shows a more complex side than a Yellowtail or Lindeman’s for instance, but it lacks a certain balance of flavor that I (personally) prefer in Shiraz.  I like Shiraz with hamburgers, so I would start in that range for pairings.

Rating: 9π/4 of 10
Value: $$$$$ of 5

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Credit:
http://www.uncorklife.com/2010/04/australia-2010.html
http://www.jacobscreek.com/au/