Jacob’s Creek Heritage Wine Collection Wine Pairing Dinner

A Harmonization of Jacob’s Creek Wines and The Restaurant’s Cuisine at The Club, Saujana Resort & Hotel

Mentioned Australian wines and Jacob’s Creek comes to my mind at first thought. Australia’s leading global wine brands with over 160 years of winemaking expertise, offers quality contemporary wine styles with great varietal expression. Jacob’s Creek history traces back t0 1847 when young Bavarian immigrant Johann Gramp planted the first commercial vineyard in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Today, it is led by Chief Winemaker Bernard Hickin and great care is taken by each of the skilled and passionate individuals behind the brand, to deliver the highest quality wines possible within each range.

No stranger to the Malaysian scene, Asia’s leading winery recently held a memorable wine pairing dinner in honors of Jacob’s Creek Heritage Wine Collection at The Restaurant at The Club, Saujana Resort & Hotel. It was truly an honor to receive an invite to this distinguished soiree for the exclusive fine wine pairing.

The evening took off with a delightful weather that sets the mood for a lovely evening to follow. Arriving early, guests mingled at the open foyer of the restaurant where they were handed glasses of Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir along with some servings of canapes of Smoked Duck with Mango and Vegetable Spring Rolls.

Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir, a sparkling bubbly, has gorgeous refreshing lemon citrus aroma and is well enhanced with creamy nutty notes. I enjoyed this so much that I had a second round of this bubbly. The sparkling wine goes really well with the salty smoked duck and the sweet vegetable spring rolls as it has such a rich and refreshing citrus note.

The evening featured a pleasurable three-course wine pairing dinner set in The Restaurant’s intimate and candlelit setting. Pristine table settings filled with lots of wine glasses and beautiful blooms graced the room, igniting an air of elegance as well as grandeur.

The Heritage fine wine collection, consisting of Reeves Point Chardonnay, Centenary Hill Shiraz, Steingarten Riesling and Johann Shiraz Cabernet, is distinctive for its individual personality style. Setting a benchmark in regional Australian wines of exceptional quality, each wine is named in honour of a special person or place in the proud winemaking history of Gramp & Sons.

Dinner commenced with an exquisite Marble of Lobster and Tomato Confit with Avocado and Grapefruit Segments, Pomegranate Truffle to be paired with Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling.

A luscious start to the wine pairing as the well balanced and intense Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling complemented the sweet king of crustacean beautifully. The citrus refreshing note and aroma of Riesling managed to enhance the lobster medallions along with its other citrusy and creamy ingredients that I actually ended up enjoying a second round of the elegant Riesling. It is my favorite wine of the Heritage Wine Collection for that evening.

The next course showcased White Tomato and Smoked Rolled Quail in Young Coconut paired with Jacob’s Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay.

At first taste of the Jacob’s Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay, I tasted subtle notes of peaches and melons with a light citrus note. The aroma also has a nutty and buttery note that lingers pleasantly along with the sweet and fresh citrus fruits. Because of its sweet and vibrant fruity notes, the wine goes really well with the creamy coconut based soup that also had slivers of young coconut flesh in it. Perched carefully on the coconut shell was a smoky rolled quail and lightly grilled white tomato that added a rich meaty note to the soup course.

For the main course, there were two choices of main to select and both were paired with different wines since it was a meat or fish course. I opted for the grand Grilled Black Angus Beef Tenderloin with Sarawak Pepper & Rosemary, Mushrooms Polenta and Vegetables paired with Jacob’s Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz.

Jacob’s Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz is a great match for rich meat as the full bodied wine has luscious rich berry and plum notes laced with a spiced aroma. Although it is a full bodied red, the Shiraz also has a wonderful soft and supple aroma that enhanced the gorgeous rich medium rare Black Angus tenderloin served with a roust pepper sauce. The smooth Shiraz also has a long finish, easing off the aftermath of the red meat flavour well.

My partner opted for the Pan-Fried Blue Eye Cod Fish with Fern Shoot and Seafood Saffron Velouté paired with Jacob’s Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay. Again here, the luscious ripe sweet peach and melon complemented the cod fish well. Despite the robust notes of the lightly spiced and creamy saffron velouté, the dish wasn’t heavy at all as the white refreshing Chardonnay lifted the flavour well.

The evening’s dinner ended with Jacob’s Creek Johann Shiraz Cabernet paired with a sinful Royale Chocolate Gateaux with Berries. Creamy and decadent, the gateaux was heavenly on the palate. Tangy and fresh berries added a good dose of freshness to balance out the heavy Gateaux. The complex red is well structured and proved to be a solid match for dark chocolate notes and berries since it has its own blackcurrant and liquorice notes.

Such a memorable ending to the evening soiree of Jacob’s Creek Heritage Wine Collection!

For more information on Jacob’s Creek Heritage Wine Collection, visit their Facebook www.facebook.com/JacobsCreekMY or website: www.jacobscreek.com/my