Cab From the Creek

As Boo and I start to gear up for our trip Down Under in April, I'm finding that it's easy to grab some of the Aussie bottles that we have laying around to seek a little inspiration for the planning process.

1042. 2006 Jacob's Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (SE Australia)

Considering the fact that 1) we love drinking a lot of Aussie wine and 2) Jacob's Creek is one of Australia's (and the world's) largest wine producers and brands, we don't drink much of their wine. I think I've only added two Jacob's Creek bottles to the thousand-plus wines on The List so far - and both of them were premium labels - the Steingarten Riesling at #316 and a Centenary Hill Shiraz at #720.

I suppose it's somewhat interesting that it's taken this long to open one of the winery's entry level bottles - particularly since the winery website states that, "The philosophy of Jacob's Creek is to offer a range of wines that suit all occasions." I think, like many, I don't tend to buy a lot of the big brand bottles to take home and cellar. There's not a lot of value in ageing an entry level wine and who needs to buy for the immediate future when you can pretty much count on the fact that the label is almost always going to be on the bottle shop shelves.

Even if we don't drink a lot of Jacob's Creek, there's no doubt that it's now an iconic Australian brand. Indeed, Jacob's Creek was at the forefront of the Aussie invasion of wine shelves around the world and it has quite a history to tell. I wasn't aware that Jacob's Creek became the Barossa Valley's first commercial vineyard - when Johann Gramp purchased 30 hectares of land and planted two hectares with vines on the banks of Jacob's Creek.

I'm not exactly sure why we still have a 2006 vintage of a $13 bottle of wine still hanging around. It must have been hidden away in a box somewhere or another. I'm glad to say that the extra time didn't hurt the wine at all. I see that Jacob's Creek is now looking to offer another option to this historical brand level where the wines don't look to waver from the consumer profile - these classic labels sourced wine from throughout the country and aimed to consistently deliver a known sip. A new moderately priced regional label is now hitting the shelves in an attempt to take a little more advantage of and to increase regional branding and vintage variation. There's little doubt, however, that you'll still be able to find this fruit forward Cab for years to come.

It's a good price point to know.