Bountiful Barossa
Good editor Carolyn Enting travels to Jacob’s Creek in South Australia and noses out some beautiful Barossa Valley wines.
The discovery of new things that travel brings is a wonderful thing, and that includes wine tasting. Usually vineyards are found in picturesque parts of the world and Australia’s famous Barossa Valley, which produces some of the finest wine globally – especially shiraz – is no exception. Eighty per cent of the vine plantings in the Barossa are shiraz.
Being a hop and skip across the ditch makes it even more palatable. After a short flight to Adelaide and 80-minute drive, you can be sitting in front of a great line-up of wines with delectable food to match at the Jacob’s Creek Visitor Centre.
The Master Class Food and Wine Matching experience is led by Nicholas Meyer, one of the iconic winery’s passionate ambassadors who gets you to literally ‘nose’ the wine. That means putting your nose in the glass, then giving the glass a swirl, and nosing it again to relish its amplified aroma.
The depth and breadth of these wines will wow the tastebuds, particularly the 2012 Centenary Hill Barossa Shiraz. It wasn’t until I tasted these wines that I realised what astonishing wines Jacob’s Creek produces, many only available for purchase from the cellar door. They produce consistently good wine in their Classics range ($10 a bottle) but these (up to $100 a bottle) are swoon-worthy.
While it is famous for its shiraz, Jacob’s Creek makes other wines too and it doesn’t just source its grapes from the Barossa. Further south east is Coonawarra – a strip of terra rossa (red earth) that’s 2km wide and 14km long and which Meyer describes as “a bit of a geological anomaly”. It provides ideal growing conditions for cabernet sauvignon. Some of the best cab sav in the world, and certainly Australia, comes from here. But what makes it interesting is that it’s surrounded by eucalyptus trees which emit a vapour in the sun, which permeates the vines and leaves micro deposits on the berries. Put your nose into the glass of Jacob’s Creek 2009 Jacaranda Ridge Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon and you can smell the eucalyptus.
Its pinot noir comes from grapes grown in the Adelaide Hills. The wine is rich and comparable to Central Otago and Sonoma styles. And, on the border of the Barossa Valley is one of Jacob’s Creek’s most famous vineyards, Steingarten in the Eden Valley, which produces riesling. It was the vision of Colin Gramp to emulate some of Germany’s best riesling vineyards. He succeeded, but not without extraordinary effort. He literally had to use dynamite to blast the schist rock apart so that the vines could be planted. There’s no topsoil here, just fractured and decomposed schist rock, hence its name Steingarten which means ‘garden of stones’. It’s one of those vineyards where you never waste a berry because it’s all hand-picked.
The Gramp family began the winemaking tradition at Jacob’s Creek in 1847 when Johann Gramp (Colin’s great-grandfather) planted his first vineyard along its banks. He was one of the many German settlers fleeing Lutheran persecution who began arriving in the area around 1839. The German influence is visible today in not only winemaking traditions but also in the food. Many local bakers still make German specialities such as Bienenstich and Streuselkuchen.
The business was called Gramp & Sons until the Jacob’s Creek brand was launched in 1976. Colin, 95, still attends harvest at Steingarten and attended the recent opening of St Hugo winery and restaurant named in honour of his father, Hugo Gramp, who died tragically in the 1938 Kyeema airline crash alongside fellow leading wine makers Tom Hardy and Sidney Hill Smith. The three were travelling to Canberra to lobby the Government on wine tax.
The Jacob’s Creek Visitor Centre and main winery at Rowland Flat are within 2km of the original site of the Gramp winery. Here, you can do a master class, dine at the restaurant and explore the 6 hectare site.
Walking amongst the vines here, and at the nearby Jacob’s Creek Cottage Estate is a treat. The recent addition of hosting ‘Our Table’ dinners here makes it even more special. The 15 metre long table built in the Barossa by furniture maker Andrew Bartlett is made of wood and glass, the latter representing the creek where it all started, and the beginning of another wonderful tradition.
Wines to try
Chief winemaker Ben Bryant’s picks
Jacob’s Creek Johnann Shiraz Cabernet, $70. The pinnacle of the brand. The rich fruit flavours of the shiraz intertwine with the structure and fine tannins of cabernet sauvignon.
Jacob’s Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz, $50. Also arguably the crème del la crème of Barossa shiraz. Rich, bold, plum driven, robust and very complex.
Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling, $35. A dry wine with lemon zest and mineral characteristics.
Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Shiraz, $20. An innovative wine that’s made traditionally in an oak barrel, blended then matured for a second time in whisky barrels. A rich complex red wine with a smooth finish.
“The table built in the Barossa is made of wood and glass, the latter representing the creek where it all started”