Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz 2001

For a few years this was one of my favourite reasonably priced Aussie Shiraz' so I have a number of vintages in the cellar. We've tried the '98 and '03 within the past few months, and a few nights ago I pulled out an '01.

I served it blind to Kelly, as always and she immediately guessed it was an Aus Shiraz from about 2000 - bang on. But I never confirm until she agrees that she has made an "official guess." So then she changed her mind and "officially" guessed it was Italian (wrong), Chilean (wrong!) or Argentinean (wrong!!). This was great, because I mocked her a lot then and I get to mock her some more now. The best thing about being the cellar master is that no one ever tests me on a blind tasting - (except tancred, but he always brings Australian Shiraz) - so I get to be really smug and mock everyone else.

Anyway, I think that speaks really well for the wine - distinctly Australian, but with enough elegance that it could be mistaken for Italian.

Here are Kelly's tasting notes: "Reserved nose of vanilla up front, and also licorice and blackberries and a hint of spruce. Dark and chewy on the palate, with very firm tannins throughout. Long."

Another interesting thing about this wine is that lately I've been losing my taste for Australian wine, and Australian Shiraz in particular. It's hard to say whether it's my tastes that are changing or the Aussie style. This makes me think that maybe it's Aussie wine itself that is changing. It seems to me that a lot of recent vintage Aus Shiraz that I've had is a caricature of Aus Shiraz, with the fruit and oak taken over the top. This Jacob's Creek reminded me of how Australia made it's reputation.

Price: Approx $27
Score: 91
Value: 4/5
Region: Australia
Grape: Shiraz
Tasted: Jan 2009
UPC: No longer available.