Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay 2012

jacobscreekchardThe 2012 Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay is Jacob’s Creek’s entry level Chardonnay sourced from various vineyards thru-out South Eastern Australia. One important thing to note, is that Jacob Creek’s chief winemaker, Bernard Hickin, says that the 2012 vintage in South Eastern Australia was the best vintage in 20 years. Good wine is made in the vineyards, the greatest winemaker can only do so much with so-so grapes, but in a good vintage it seems everybody makes good wine. The grapes were picked at night to protect them from the heat of the day (this is a step you do not always see with Chardonnay, it shows a little extra care). Some of the lots of grapes underwent malolactic fermentation (reduces acidity and changes tart flavors to more rounded, softer flavors) and those lots were also aged “on-lees” (the dead yeast and grape residue remain in the tank with the wine, giving the wine added structure and a nutty, creamy texture). At least a portion of the wine was aged with some sort of oak and the alcohol content is a well mannered 12.7%

The color is an olive oil yellow with a lime green tint. The nose is melon and citrus, with a light floral edge. This Chardonnay tastes of green apple, grapefruit, melon and lime. The mid palate brings a well balanced slap of acidity, lemon chiffon and creamy vanilla. This is a medium bodied Chardonnay that favors fruit over citrus, it is very lightly oaked and the acidity adds a refreshing crispness. The finish is subdued, but lengthy.

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Bring on the warm weather, we have the well priced Chardonnay (7 or 8 bucks, less on sale) ready to go. The 2012 Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay is full of flavor, well balanced and has enough acidity to pair with anything from fresh seafood to spicy Asian. The 2012 Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay is a very well priced, go-to, everyday Chardonnay, that delivers a little bit more than expected.

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Don’t tell anyone, but there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of wine and the quality of wine.

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