The Walman Report®
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By Nancy Walman
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Jacob’s Creek Provides Value, Without
Sacrificing Quality
We’ll all have a “Riesling to Celebrate” this June when Jacob’s Creek, the world’s best-selling Australian wine, introduces its 2004 Riesling to the U.S. market. Jacob’s Creek is produced by Orlando Wyndham and is imported by Pernod Ricard USA, New York.
First
launched in Australia in 1983, Jacob’s Creek’s Riesling has won 253
international awards, which include 20 gold medals, 55 silver medals and “Best
Riesling” at the National Riesling Challenge in Canberra in February for the
2002 vintage. The 2004 vintage, which will be introduced into the U.S., (earlier
vintages being sold out) possesses flavors of fresh lemon citrus with an
underlying hint of lime spice.
A recent
dinner with Bernard Hickin, Jacob’s Creek’s white wine winemaker,
confirmed our conviction that many Americans forget that food-friendly wine is
one of life’s joys. While we could happily quaff any of the three wines we
matched with dinner at the “Side Car” restaurant on a summer’s day (especially
the amazing sparkler), they worked beautifully with some unexpected
food-matches, such as sliced tomatoes and blue cheese and grilled and braised
lamb. Even dessert was a perfect fit for the Brut Cuvee.
Jacob’s Creek 2004
Riesling
Color:
Pale straw
with vibrant green hues.
Bouquet:
Fresh,
lemon citrus blossom, with underlying lime spice.
Palate:
Fruit
driven, with concentrate lime and lemon sherbet
Flavors.
Fresh minerally acid creates balance and length.
Harvest
Date: March
to April 2004
Bottling
Date: December
2004 onwards
Alcohol:
11.5%
alc/vol
Total
Acid: 6.50
g/L
pH:
3.10
The
winter preceding the 2004 vintage was blessed with much needed rain,
particularly in South Australia where there were major rain events in February
and August 2003. This rain secured an excellent soil moisture regime for the
healthy Spring growth and abundant fruit set that occurred in many South
Eastern Australian regions. January and March 2004 were relatively cool,
producing soft wines with excellent acid structure. February by contrast was
warm to hot which ensured ripe varietal flavor.The grapes for the 2004 Jacobs
Creek Riesling were sourced predominantly from the Langhorne Creek, the Barossa
Valley,McLaren Vale and Clare. Grapes destined for this product were carefully
selected with style in mind and machine harvested in the cool of the night.
After crushing, juice was drained away immediately to retain elegant fruit
flavors. Great care was taken to ensure minimal skin contact, which ensured
that resulting juices were soft and low in phenolics. After clarification,
juices were fermented with a selected yeast strain at 12-15°C to enhance
varietal fruit characters. Final wines were blended, stabilized and clarified
before bottling.
Jacob’s
Creek Riesling shows excellent varietal definition driven by fresh citrus
flavors and underlying floral spices. The minerally acid promotes balance and
structure and ensures that the wine finishes crisp and clean. The wine would be
easily suited for drinking with a wide variety of light food dishes, ranging
from shellfish to chowders, salads and cold chicken.
Jacob’s Creek Reserve
2003 Riesling
.
Harvest
Date: Mid March
Bottling
Date: 10th July 2003
ANALYSIS
Alcohol:
12.0% alc/vol
Total
Acid: 7.5 g/L
pH:
3.04
Color:
Vibrant green.
Bouquet:
Palate:
Fruit driven with intense tropical lime and
lemon
sherbet. Persistent minerally acid provides
freshness
and length, completed by a clean chalky finish.
http://www.jacobscreek.com.au/
Average winter rainfall and mild spring weather provided
calm conditions, which were ideal for brought on early maturation and vine
canopies remained healthy after a burst of rain in early February. Average
yields and low disease pressure development and the retention of natural acids
prior to harvest. Night temperatures at harvest preserved. WINEMAKING Flavor
development in the vineyard was monitored closely by the winemaker, with
regular ripeness before harvest. The fruit was gently pressed and only the soft
free run juice was selected, which showed vibrant green color wines were then
separated from the yeast and held cold to retain their freshness. Skilled
winemaking at blending was used to capture the attributes from Riesling, the
lemon citrus of Eden Valley and the tropical lime characters of Clare Valley
have been combined to produce and Jacob’s Creek Reserve Riesling of outstanding
quality.
Freshness
and intensity drive this very generous wine. Excellent chalky structure and
minerally acid provide length and balance to the powerful fruit careful
maturation in the Screw Cap sealed bottle, which we firmly endorse.
Surprisingly delicious with lamb, full flesh fish, like tuna, sushi and goat
cheese.
Jacob’s
Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir
Color:
mousse.
Bouquet:
Chardonnay is married to the fresh attractive bread crust
characters of Pinot Noir.
Palate:
soft, crisp and clean.
Alcohol: 12.0%
Total Acid: 6.3 g/L
pH: 3.22
http://www.jacobscreek.com.au/
.
This wine has
been sourced predominantly from selected color vintages, known for producing
quality sparkling wines. As color a non-vintage style, complexity has been
achieved with the color inclusion of prior vintages to produce a wine of
consistency color and quality. color. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes were
selected color from premium districts, including Buckland Valley (VIC),color
Cowra (NSW) and Adelaide Hills (SA). Harvested in color the cool of night,
minimal juice contact with the skins color separately using a yeast strain
isolated in Champagne, color to produce delicate base wines, which then
underwent color secondary fermentation in the bottle.
A truly delightful sparkling wine that is equal to many at twice the
price, here is the wine to drink throughout the meal and works beautifully with
Asian, Mexican or Indian cuisine.
The suggested retail prices follow:
Jacob's Creek 2004 Riesling $8.99
Jacob's Creek 2003 Reserve Riesling $12.99
Jacob's Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut Cuvee $11.99
A Note on
the Winemaker Bernie Hickin
Mr. Hickin was made Senior
White and Sparkling Winemaker in 1994, and took on responsibility for the whole
group in 1997. He is known and respected in the company for always working to
get a better wine, never settling for second best. Such dedication is not
confined to the winery, however. A walk through the vineyards of Burgundy,
tasting grapes off the vine and seeing how a variety’s flavor could alter every
few yards, made Hickin realize how crucial site selection was. It prompted him
to become one of the prime movers behind Orlando Wyndham’s push to get
winemakers out into as many vineyards as possible and to get the very best
quality from each and every block. He says this process means that all Orlando
Wyndham grapes are picked at their optimum ripeness and potential, whether they
are for Jacaranda Ridge or Jacob’s Creek.
“It helps a big blend
tremendously, because each block is treated like a Grand Cru vineyard, each
harvested at its best and then vineyards are streamed together for crushing.
That’s why we get fantastic varietal flavor in Jacob’s Creek,” he says. “We
want to continually surprise the consumer and get them to say ‘how do they do
it for this price?’” In fact, so engrossing has he found it all that he’s just
about to plant his own small plot in the Barossa. That would be enough for most
winemakers, but Bernard has yet another passion he can satisfy at Orlando
Wyndham – for wood. He has overall responsibility for all oak and barrel
purchase, goes to France twice a year to choose oak and loves nothing more than
discussing the subtleties of different types of timber. Bernard Hickin’s
passions and enthusiasms have not been swamped as his workload has increased
and responsibilities deepened, but have developed and grown. His wisdom and
quiet tenacity will undoubtedly instill far more than technical know-how to up
and coming generations of winemakers.
These reviews are available and have been seen on the Internet. Click here to see an index of other reviews on the worldwide web <http://www.punchin.com>. <http://www.wineonline.net>. They have been heard on WNCN, WEVD and WQXR radio, seen in Fodor's and Mobil Guide Books, and printed in Chocolatier, Troika, Trump and Metropolitan Millionaire magazines and newspapers and throughout the world, including the NY Post, Women's Wear Daily and the NY Times, via the Punch In International Network. This review may be reprinted free of charge, so long as source and byline credit are included: "The Walman Report," "Punch In International®," Wine On Line International®.
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