Jacob’s Creek Red Blend – Easy Drinking Bargain Red

Jacob’s Creek is a pretty big producer from Australia with good distribution in the United States, which means this should be a relatively easy wine to find.  That said, this is a new release and it may take some time for it to show up widely in stores.  But when it does, it will be quite a bargain.

Red blends are a good bet when it comes to bargain wines.  While I like a good single-variety wine, blends allow producers to leverage the qualities of different grapes and put together a more complex and interesting wine while keeping the cost reasonable.  I think this is one reason that red blends are all the rage in the budget wine market.

The blend in this bottle is made of 66% shiraz, 18% cabernet sauvignon, 12% grenache and 4% petit verdot.

This wine is a little tight on the nose — meaning that the intensity of the aromas is pretty soft.  It does have good complexity, offering plum, black licorice, cherry and black raspberry aromas — they’re just not all that intense.  The palate is a different story.  There’s plenty of concentration and ripe fruit flavors, such as cherry, plum and black raspberry.  While it’s still a “dry” wine, the residual sugar is noticeable.  This is an easy wine to drink although it’s not what I would call an “elegant” wine.  It would be a great wine to enjoy with a juicy burger or a slice of pizza.

Best of all, the price is a total steal!

Wine: Jacob’s Creek Red Blend
Varieties: 66% shiraz, 18% cabernet sauvignon, 12% grenache, 4% petit verdot
Vintage: 2012
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 86
Average price: $6.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.