Wine Review: Jacob's Creek 2007 Shiraz

Jacob's Creek is one of the largest exporters of wine in Australia. Since 1847, this well known brand has tended its vines in the Barossa Valley region of south Australia.

Of course, we're concerned about only a handful of things here. Is it easy to find? Is it cheap? Is it good?

Well it's definitely easy to find. I picked up this bottle of Jacob's Creek 2007 Shiraz at my local Wal-Mart. I've seen the brand in pharmacies, wine stores, and grocery stores. You should have no trouble picking it up. And to answer the second question - yes it is cheap. At $7.99, this bottle won't murder your wallet.

This wine entertains the nose with a distinct licorice/anise quality. Plum, cherry and blackberry fruit waft forth along with a whiff of oak.

The taste is a cherry fest, but lacking the fruit overkill of many wines. The structure of this wine doesn't fall apart in the mouth like yesterday's Alice White. It isn't building a house on the palate - not that kind of strength - but it might be building a tool shed up there. Other than the cherry, it constructs its little shed with a nice peppery oak nicely balanced with delicate acid.

3 of 5 glasses

Wine Review: Trentadue's Petite Sirah

Oh Petite Sirah - how I love thee. Your tiny dark fruit, bunched so tightly... mildew resistant, but prone to rot... but so full of lovely tannins, rich plum color, and general tasty goodness. Face it people, this is a fantastic little grape.

I recently discovered a different wine shop around the area. A Taste of Wine in Miamisburg, Ohio. It's a nice little place with a good selection, classes, tastings, and knowledgeable staff. Anyway, I went in, asked for a petite sirah, and was handed the Trentadue. The owner explained to me that the price had just dropped from the mid $30 range down to $17.99. Now this is getting up there for the rest of us. Generally I try to spend under $15. But it's okay to spend a little bit more every now and then - and that is what I did.

Trentadue's concoction is a lovely dark purple color, with fantastic legs. Mine was slightly cloudy and there was some residual chunkage where the wine crept up and ate a bit of the cork.

Determined to get the most for my money I allowed this bottle to decant for two hours. If you're not familiar with decanting, you should be. Decant your wine. Get a decanter or a pitcher... a bowl... anything that will expose a lot of your wine's surface area to the air. The process really helps to soften some of the bite in the wine and enriches the flavor immensely.

Back to the wine... There is a wonderful bouquet of cherry and blackberry along with some earthy pepper and clove scents. I would also say there is a touch of lavender in the nose. All in all, a delightful aroma.

Even after two hours decanting and some vigorous swirling in the glass, the taste is very very dry. There is a fresh exotic breezy kind of quality, like I'm tasting the sea – in a good way. It is chocolatey. Rich. There is a very woody, rooty, earthy quality. But it is nicely balanced with dark red fruits, some plum flavors and it fills the mouth and excites the palate.

CONCLUSION:

This wine has an incredibly interesting nose and a delicious sip – but at $18, it's a little hard on the wallet.

4.5 of 5 glasses