Seasonal suppers wine article

A new batch of red wines finished in whisky barrels

Guests at this winter's Seasonal Suppers event were treated to Jacob's Creek's new range of red wines, which are aged and then finished in whisky barrels

The “double barrel” finishing process

As one of Australia’s oldest vineyards, it makes sense that Jacob’s Creek would employ innovative techniques for ageing their wine. Their most recent range of double barrel aged reds have been generously oaked in French and American barrels before a second sitting in whisky casks.

It’s a process which has taken two years to refine, and has produced two full, ripe wines — a Barossa Valley shiraz, aged in Scotch whisky barrels, and a cabernet sauvignon, which has been aged in an Irish drum.

There’s heat in the fruit of these wines, with the shiraz offering dark-chocolate notes with vanilla and liquorice on the nose, and the cabernet showing bold tannins, olives, caramel and mint. In the context of a game-focused restaurant like Cazador (or dinner on a wintry night at home), these wines fit. They’re powerful expressions of South Australia’s unique terroir, with long hot days and clay soils evident.