Jacob's Creek is an Australian winery with a history going back to 1847, when the first grapes were planted in the area by a Bavarian immigrant. (The story of European settlement throughout the world often boils down to, "I could use a drink, let's see what we can grow here and ferment.") The current name and brand are much newer, with a first release in 1976. I've reviewed several of their wines in the past, and I feel that the wines represent good bargains with dignified labels. Kangaroos are fun, but sometimes you want something a little more classic looking on the table, or for occasions like wedding receptions. 
2007 Jacob's Creek Reserve Pinot NoirSouth Australia
$13, 13% abv.
Toast and blackberry jam aroma, light mouthfeel, no tannins, little tart raspberry finish. It's fairly pale for a red, and light shines through it easily. You don't see a whole lot of Pinot Noir from Australia, and it represents about a tenth of the Shiraz acreage that's planted. I really love lighter Pinot Noir like this with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
2008 Jacob's Creek Shiraz
South Eastern Australia
$8, 14% abv.
The nose has the combination of black pepper as well as the (obviously unrelated) green bell pepper. The flavor is vegetal, spicy, and earthy. There's a lot more complexity here than you would expect from a wine under $10. Consider this one for a hearty, flavorful pizza with a lot of cured meats on it.
Note: These wines were received as samples.
2 comments:
There's now a lot of good pinot noir being produced in Australia mostly from around Melbourne (Mornington Peninsula, Macedon Ranges, Yarra Valley, Geelong, Gippsland) and also from Tasmania. I'm not sure where Jacob's Creek get their fruit from (it didn't say on their website), but the Adelaide Hills in South Australia is locally regarded as the most suitable pinot noir region in that very warm state due to altitude.
Though absolutely an "Australian winery" and made here, and no doubt this is obvious, but Jacobs Creek is also owned by the French drinks group, Pernod Ricard.
Regards
Sean
Sean,
Thanks for the input, and I'll be looking for good Australian Pinot Noir in the future. Unfortunately at the moment, almost no PN from the southern hemisphere makes it to my part of the United States, with the exception of New Zealand. The odd bottles that do show up tend to be part of a large corporate portfolio (like this one).
Personally when it comes to Australian wine, my heart lies with the small producers out in Western Australia--Denmark, Margaret River, etc. :)
Cheers,
Benito
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