A short while ago I was contacted by a representative from Jacob's Creek who asked if I would be interested in samples of some of their wines. What the heck, it's free, right? Well, that isn't really the attitude I have towards samples; I honestly receive very few but am kind of glad about that because I don't want to get a whole bunch of wine I really don't want and then feel like I have to review it. That said, if Madame Leroy or someone from the DRC wants me to sample something, I guess I would try it.
Continuing on.. I did receive the samples and being that today, January 26, is Australia Day, what better day to write a review of the samples? So here goes..
2005 Jacob's Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve: Nice cedary and fruity aromas but on the palate it initially didn't taste like a cab to me (granted, I am not really much of a Cabernet fan). It had a tart, cranberry character to it. Like I do with pretty much all the wines I drink, I had 1/4 of the bottle on day one, and then poured the remainder into three splits to have over the next three days. The wine did improve over the three days, taking on a rounder, more mellow fruit character. The cedar/smoke component remained. There was a nice balance of acid, tannins and fruit but the aftertaste was very short. The wine retails for $13.99 but I saw it at Costco for $8.99 a couple of weeks ago. By the third and fourth splits the wine was showing good varietal character.
2007 Jacob's Creek Chardonnay Reserve: Oh boy there was lots of toasty oak in this wine, both aromas and palate. Toasted nuts, too. Predominately pear and apple fruit, an enough of it to balance out the oak; there was also good acidity. There was actually quite a bit of everything in the wine - a good concentration. Not a big, fat buttery chardonnay, this one was zippy. Like the cab, the aftertaste was short.
2007 Jacob's Creek Pinot Noir Reserve: This one came with a screw-top. It looked like a Pinot in color, which is good because I don't like pouring a Pinot Noir and seeing something opaque flow from the bottle. It smelled like one too, although the aromas were not real intense. Spiced cherry, somce cola flavors; good fruit and what I felt was the right texture - smooth and not heavy. There was a good balance of all the components, held together with good acidity.
2006 Jacob's Creek Shiraz Reserve: Very earthy, with chocolate and berries on the palate. Lots and lots of berries, actually. The balance between the fruit, tannins and acidity was good. A nice smooth and supple wine. A bit heavy on the earth at the beginning but then it rounded out.
2008 Jacob's Creek Riesling Reserve: This one seemed very woody and also not very Riesling-like at the beginning. By the third and fourth splits it was tasting better, with tight, lemony flavors and very bright acidity. There was a soapy character to this wine, too. It got better with air but I'd say this was the weakest of the bunch.
Overall, this was a pleasing group of wines. They all retail for $13.99 and you could do a lot worse at that price. If you find it under $10 (like the Cabernet at Costco), most definitely give it a try. Aside from the Riesling, they all showed good varietal character, were concentrated, and were very well balanced. None of them were what you would call real complex wines, but for the price they are an excellent value, especially if you can find them at a discount. Even the Riesling acquitted itself after having some air time. All of these were surprisingly good (I say surprisingly because this is the first time I have ever tasted anything from Jacob's Creek).
I wouldn't have purchased these if I saw them at the store, but I am happy to have gotten the samples and they were worth drinking. I didn't dump them out prematurely! I wanted to finish them all up.
With that, happy Australia Day to everyone!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Picton Bay 2008 Pinot Noir
Wow, TWO posts within the space of ONE week? Yes, 'tis the Christmas season and I am feeling generous with the words so I thought I would alert you to what I think is a bargain buy on a Pinot Noir that can be found at Trader Joe's. Well, perhaps can be found, since I bought this a few months ago.
The Picton Bay 2008 Pinot Noir comes in a screw-top bottle, something I find very convenient since there's no foil to cut and no cork to pull. This is not a long-ager so why bother? The label does say drink now or hold until 2012 but it's more one to drink up over the next year or so. By the way, this one comes from New Zealand.
First thing to notice is the color - it is a relatively light magenta. No heavy stuff here! It looks like a Pinot Noir.
Next is the aroma. It smells like a Pinot Noir in the fruit department: cherries and raspberry. Sort of like raspberry Kool-aid, actually. It's lacking in any barnyard component, though.
On the palate, it's got a light touch. Not watery, but light. Not like so many Pinots that have lots of texture and weight. There's a lot of cherry and raspberry fruit, along with cola and a bit of spice, held together with good acidity and mild tannins. The aftertaste even lingers a bit! I like the fact that it is not heavy. I don't think a Pinot Noir should be heavy.
This isn't going to win any awards for complexity, but for $7.99 I think it's a great value, one with discernable Pinot Noir character.
The Picton Bay 2008 Pinot Noir comes in a screw-top bottle, something I find very convenient since there's no foil to cut and no cork to pull. This is not a long-ager so why bother? The label does say drink now or hold until 2012 but it's more one to drink up over the next year or so. By the way, this one comes from New Zealand.
First thing to notice is the color - it is a relatively light magenta. No heavy stuff here! It looks like a Pinot Noir.
Next is the aroma. It smells like a Pinot Noir in the fruit department: cherries and raspberry. Sort of like raspberry Kool-aid, actually. It's lacking in any barnyard component, though.
On the palate, it's got a light touch. Not watery, but light. Not like so many Pinots that have lots of texture and weight. There's a lot of cherry and raspberry fruit, along with cola and a bit of spice, held together with good acidity and mild tannins. The aftertaste even lingers a bit! I like the fact that it is not heavy. I don't think a Pinot Noir should be heavy.
This isn't going to win any awards for complexity, but for $7.99 I think it's a great value, one with discernable Pinot Noir character.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Gift Idea
Here I am, emerging from the woodwork for a rare appearance to provide those of you who are stumped for a wine-related Christmas gift with a suggestion.
Living With Wine: Passionate Collectors, Sophisticated Cellars, and Other Rooms for Entertaining, Enjoying and Imbibing is an elegant coffee table book authored by Samantha Nestor and Alice Feiring. Ms. Feiring's name may have rung a bell with many of you for her outspoken first work, The Battle For Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World From Parkerization.
As of this writing, I see the book is the 24,799th best-selling book on Amazon.com. Maybe after hearing about it here, the book might move up a few notches.
Before I go on, let me say that I did receive this book as a semi-solicited sample. That is, when the publisher contacted me via this blog and asked if I would be interested in obtaining a review copy, I said sure, thank you very much! I would rather get wine-related items instead of wine anyway, unless it happens to be a sample from Leroy or DRC or Stony Hill or someone like that which of course if I ever did, would mean pigs are flying.
What arrived is an elegant, heavy volume featuring wine cellars of various passionate collectors, thirty in all, with pictures and text describing the cellars, construction and contents. They range from grand to relatively compact; those beyond the budget of perhaps 99% of us, to those that might provide the rest of us 99% with ideas of what can be done within a limited space in one's living quarters.
Like I said, this is a coffee table-type book. It's meant for the person who can appreciate the joys of having an extensive (or even not-so-extensive) cellar, something beyond wine refrigerators. There are plenty of gorgeous pictures complemented by well-written, easy-to-read text on the design and collection philosophies of the owners.
The retail price of Living With Wine is $75.00 but you can purchase it from Amazon for $47.25. Now, would I purchase this book for myself? Honestly, no. This is the kind of book you buy for an enophile when you want to get him or her something really nice besides a bottle of wine. So while I wouldn't buy this for myself, I would buy it as a gift. It's a gorgeous book that I feel is sure to please a wine enthusiast.
Please excuse the picture quality - I didn't want to use a flash and have a glare appear on the pages, but it also resulted in the pages not looking their best. The original photos in the book are first rate even if mine aren't..
Living With Wine: Passionate Collectors, Sophisticated Cellars, and Other Rooms for Entertaining, Enjoying and Imbibing is an elegant coffee table book authored by Samantha Nestor and Alice Feiring. Ms. Feiring's name may have rung a bell with many of you for her outspoken first work, The Battle For Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World From Parkerization.
As of this writing, I see the book is the 24,799th best-selling book on Amazon.com. Maybe after hearing about it here, the book might move up a few notches.
Before I go on, let me say that I did receive this book as a semi-solicited sample. That is, when the publisher contacted me via this blog and asked if I would be interested in obtaining a review copy, I said sure, thank you very much! I would rather get wine-related items instead of wine anyway, unless it happens to be a sample from Leroy or DRC or Stony Hill or someone like that which of course if I ever did, would mean pigs are flying.
What arrived is an elegant, heavy volume featuring wine cellars of various passionate collectors, thirty in all, with pictures and text describing the cellars, construction and contents. They range from grand to relatively compact; those beyond the budget of perhaps 99% of us, to those that might provide the rest of us 99% with ideas of what can be done within a limited space in one's living quarters.
Like I said, this is a coffee table-type book. It's meant for the person who can appreciate the joys of having an extensive (or even not-so-extensive) cellar, something beyond wine refrigerators. There are plenty of gorgeous pictures complemented by well-written, easy-to-read text on the design and collection philosophies of the owners.
The retail price of Living With Wine is $75.00 but you can purchase it from Amazon for $47.25. Now, would I purchase this book for myself? Honestly, no. This is the kind of book you buy for an enophile when you want to get him or her something really nice besides a bottle of wine. So while I wouldn't buy this for myself, I would buy it as a gift. It's a gorgeous book that I feel is sure to please a wine enthusiast.
Please excuse the picture quality - I didn't want to use a flash and have a glare appear on the pages, but it also resulted in the pages not looking their best. The original photos in the book are first rate even if mine aren't..
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Keep Those Foods Fresh
Well folks, my post today isn't really about wine but it's about a wine accessory that you can use as an economical tool to keep your foods fresh, as well as your wine!
Most of you are probably familiar with the Vacu Vin, the device that is designed to keep the remainder portion of wine in the bottle fresh by pumping out the air and then sealing the bottle with a rubber stopper. There's a lot of controversy over it, some saying it works and some saying it doesn't.
Me, it seemed to work when I used to use it, but I don't use it anymore. I simply pour my wine into 187 ml sized bottles for individual portions, and that keeps the air out because the bottle is just the right size for one serving.
You've seen those food-saving bags, haven't you? The ones in which you place food, then use a vacuum device to pump out the air to keep the food fresh? Some have a motorized vacuum and some have a hand pump. Well all you really need is to buy some of these bags and then use a Vacu Vin for the pump. It fits and works perfectly!
I originally bought the one made by Reynolds, which had a battery-operated vacuum. The problem with that is the batteries wear out fast, it is noisy, and you have to position the device just so on the bag in order for it to suck out the air. You can do the same thing in less time and with more ease by just placing the Vacu Vin over the little area of the bag where the vacuum goes, then with a few pumps the air is gone!
It's great for keeping sliced deli meats and other things that are sensitive to air - just use a portion then seal the bag and pump out the air again. You can tell it works by looking at the bag.
Now, many of you are probably saying "duh" because you knew this already, but just in case you didn't.. use that Vacu Vin for double duty!
Okay, that's it for now, see you in another short while.. or long while.. or whenever the urge to write strikes.
Most of you are probably familiar with the Vacu Vin, the device that is designed to keep the remainder portion of wine in the bottle fresh by pumping out the air and then sealing the bottle with a rubber stopper. There's a lot of controversy over it, some saying it works and some saying it doesn't.
Me, it seemed to work when I used to use it, but I don't use it anymore. I simply pour my wine into 187 ml sized bottles for individual portions, and that keeps the air out because the bottle is just the right size for one serving.
You've seen those food-saving bags, haven't you? The ones in which you place food, then use a vacuum device to pump out the air to keep the food fresh? Some have a motorized vacuum and some have a hand pump. Well all you really need is to buy some of these bags and then use a Vacu Vin for the pump. It fits and works perfectly!
I originally bought the one made by Reynolds, which had a battery-operated vacuum. The problem with that is the batteries wear out fast, it is noisy, and you have to position the device just so on the bag in order for it to suck out the air. You can do the same thing in less time and with more ease by just placing the Vacu Vin over the little area of the bag where the vacuum goes, then with a few pumps the air is gone!
It's great for keeping sliced deli meats and other things that are sensitive to air - just use a portion then seal the bag and pump out the air again. You can tell it works by looking at the bag.
Now, many of you are probably saying "duh" because you knew this already, but just in case you didn't.. use that Vacu Vin for double duty!
Okay, that's it for now, see you in another short while.. or long while.. or whenever the urge to write strikes.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Not a Pinot
Hey I am back but only briefly! I've been drinking wines consistently since my last post ages ago but have just been too lazy to write about them.
I felt I needed to do this short review as a public service, though. I bought a bottle of 2006 Cherry Hill Pinot Noir Papillon from Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. It's an Oregon wine.
Pouring it in the glass, it doesn't look like a Pinot Noir. It is too dark and too purple. It doesn't smell like a Pinot Noir. And it doesn't taste like a Pinot Noir, either. It is too heavy and textured, and tastes more like a Cab/Syrah mix.
To be fair, the wine buyer at the TJ's where I purchased it told me this was a "heavy" and "darker" Pinot Noir, and he was right. The VINTJS that they were selling is better than this one, if you are looking for a Pinot Noir with a more authentic character.
If you just want a decent red wine and don't care if it particularly tastes like the grapes it is made of, then this isn't a bad deal for $9.99 but if you're expecting a Pinot Noir, I'd say go elsewhere.
Okay, back to my hibernation now..
I felt I needed to do this short review as a public service, though. I bought a bottle of 2006 Cherry Hill Pinot Noir Papillon from Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. It's an Oregon wine.
Pouring it in the glass, it doesn't look like a Pinot Noir. It is too dark and too purple. It doesn't smell like a Pinot Noir. And it doesn't taste like a Pinot Noir, either. It is too heavy and textured, and tastes more like a Cab/Syrah mix.
To be fair, the wine buyer at the TJ's where I purchased it told me this was a "heavy" and "darker" Pinot Noir, and he was right. The VINTJS that they were selling is better than this one, if you are looking for a Pinot Noir with a more authentic character.
If you just want a decent red wine and don't care if it particularly tastes like the grapes it is made of, then this isn't a bad deal for $9.99 but if you're expecting a Pinot Noir, I'd say go elsewhere.
Okay, back to my hibernation now..
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