At Christmas we all spend a little bit more on wine, usually because we are buying wine as a present, or we want to drink something a little more upmarket at this time of year. Australian wine legend Jacob’s Creek has the perfect red wine for Christmas, their double barrel series, which was launched in Ireland earlier this year.
This is a great “winter wine” made from Cabernet Sauvignon which is a robust red grape. When you’ve had your fill of turkey and can’t wait for a nice bit of steak, or a slow cooked beef casserole, I suggest you pull the cork on this baby to match with your meat.
An ideal gift for the wine lover in your life, this Aussie wine star has a lot on offer!
Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon €17.99
Stockists: Dollard & Co, Wellington Quay, Dublin 2; O’Briens Wines Beers Spirits (34 shops); Tesco Nationwide (available this Christmas only); Dunnes Stores, Nationwide.
The first serious wine brand I came across in the 1990’s was Jacob’s Creek. This was long before I got into the wine business and didn’t know anything about wine. I fondly remember buying their wines and really enjoying them at the time. I knew they were from Australia but that was about it.
Fast forward thirty years and Jacob’s Creek has evolved and matured as a wine brand and I during that time have become a lot more knowledgably than I was back then! This is a premium wine from Jacob’s Creek who have continued to innovate throughout the years. From their very well made sparkling wine range, to their ever expanding varietal range, Jacob’s Creek have tried to meet the consumer demands.
Today they are not as well-known as they once were (for many years they were the number one selling wine on the Irish market). However, that does not mean that they don’t produce really good wines, they do.
The Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon is a new premium red wine, which goes through two types of barrel treatment (hence the name Double Barrel). The wines are first aged in traditional wine barrels, before being finished in aged Irish whiskey barrels, with the new Cabernet Sauvignon finished in casks from Irish Distillers’ Middleton Distillery.
Kevin O’Gorman, Irish Distillers’ Head of Maturation and responsible for looking after more than one million casks of whiskey said, “Our casks have a significant influence on the development of the taste profiles of our whiskeys. The natural wood sugars in the white American oak impart a subtle sweetness, compared to wine barrels which are toasted gently, while the narrower staves of the whiskey barrels allows for a greater oxygen exchange during the finishing process”. Loosely translated this means that the American oak which is more porous allows a little more air into the maturing wine, giving a softer style and complexity to the wine that has been aged in these barrels.
For wine events check out the wine diary https://jeansmullen.com/
Make sure you book your ticket for the 21st Annual New Zealand Consumer Wine Tasting on Thursday 18th January, 2018 at 18:30. For 2018 we have a new Dublin venue– Aviva Stadium, home of international rugby in Ireland. The New Zealand wine fair is a superb evening out. The chance to meet and talk to the producers and find out more about the great wines from New Zealand is not to be missed!! A great idea for a stocking filler for the wine enthusiast in your life! Tickets are now on sale priced €15.00
