July Hibernation

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Veering from the fascinating subject of bruschetta (no sarcasm, honest -- I must try making some), and onto wine.. What do you know of Jacob's Creek Steingarten?

I'd always thought of JC as just cheapie supermarket shelf-fillers, but I've recently read a review of their Steingarten Riesling which the writer was drooling over. Claimed that the 2005 will be every bit as good as top German gear given some cellaring. At around £13 a bot, it isn't dirt cheap, but according to the writer it's usually much pricier than this.

Know anything about it?

I drink a lot of Clare Valley/Watervale riesling, which the Barossa-made Steingarten is similar to (but which probably has a lot of Watervale fruit in it anyway). Whilst the Steingarten may be arguably a better wine technically, I'd suggest the Clare/Watervale rieslings are similar, but far more interesting and literally about half the price.

You won't be disappointed with a Steingarten if you can forget how much you paid for it, but you will be far more impressed with a good Clare riesling when you factor in the cost.

Clare Valley riesling is astonishingly good value. Especially so at the moment when riesling is not particularly trendy here. My cellar is full of it. Don't expect it to age quickly however. It's nearly all bottled under Stelvin screwcaps now, and doesn't even begin to age for 15 years+. You have to either like it young and fresh or be very, very patient.

Oh, and price-wise, it retails for about A$30 here, so £13 sounds about right. No more though.