Almost Club May/June 2023 Edition: 27 wines that almost made it + some that failed spectacularly.

Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ‘ok drinks’, and some are just bad…

Here is a collection of 27 wines that almost made it in May and June 2023.

Lots of very simple wines in this collection, contrasted by a few easy drinks. Really, if you’re paying $30-$40 (or more) for any wine, you expect some complexity or at least vitality, and plenty here lack that. Not good enough.

Meanwhile, later this week, I’ll put up an assortment of Shiraz that did make it over the past 6 weeks, if purely to prove that I’m not always a grumpy bastard.

Higher Plane Vanishing Point Syrah 2022

The lo-fi Higher Plane range of Margaret River releases, on the whole, are packed with interest. Sky-high drinkability. This Syrah is a simpler part of the range but still enjoyable enough. ‘Next level winemaking from a single vineyard in Karridale’, says the label. 1/3rd of the blend underwent carbonic maceration. Only a short time on skins and matured for 7 months in older oak. Bottled unfined. pH 3.65 TA 5.8g/L. Bright purple berry fruit too. Plum juice/Ribena with this jubey carbonic palate of easy fun. A slippery, skinsy sort of light red, though it’s difficult to pick any Margs character, no obvious oak and light tannins. I get the intention, but it’s a pretty simple beast. Best drinking: nowish. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13.5%, $29. Would I buy it? A glass or so for sure.

Howard Park Flint Rock Pinot Noir 2022

Great Southern Pinot and surprisingly ambitious. Firm and oh-so-serious, with red berry mint and eucalyptus and pleasing wet earth Pinosity to it. The palate is dry, unflinching in its seriousness, with this minty, mid-weight dry palate of extraction and thrust. I admire the intention, but I kinda feel like this is an attack, and Mrs Ozwinereview remarked that it felt like her tongue was on fire. Admirable intention. Best drinking: nowish, before it dries out. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13%, $30. Would I buy it? No.

McWilliam’s Eliza Jane Shiraz 2018

This is the new top dog Canberra Shiraz from McWilliam’s. A curious wine.. Sourced from the Quarry Hill Vineyard, which remains close to my heart (it was the fruit source for my student wine fifteen years ago. I can smell it here!). I don’t know why the Eliza Jane Shiraz has been kept back for release – it has lost a bit of vitality in the process. Maybe the McWilliams family chaos ate it up? This Shiraz smells older than five years old, with brick dust and coffee grounds. There is a bit of hedgerow and black pepper and leather too. Odd. The drying palate is mid-weight and tannic, with this nice cranberry and sour raspberry vibe lifting the dryness. Why so gruff, though? It’s already leathery, too, with tannins that aren’t going anywhere, but a lack of generosity too. Not bad, but missing energy for this price. Best drinking: now. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13.5%, $100. Would I buy it? No.

Wild Wren Wines Shiraz 2021

Hunter Valley & McLaren Vale fruit, with winemaking by Scott Comyns. New leather, tilled earth, red plum. Wears its Hunter Valley character with pride. The palate is a bit confected, all plum and tart acidity, but it’s bright and berried, with a middle and finish that feels proper regional, which rescues it from simplicity. Still a bit too confected and tart for me. Best drinking: I’d go in the next few years. 16.8/20, 89/100. 14.5%, $35. Would I buy it? No.

Castel Firmian Pinot Grigio Riserva 2020

Some of the Castel Firmian wines can be solid varietal Italian drinks. But this Trentino white feels a bit tired and overdone. Lightly honeyed golden nut palate – it could be any textured white. Custard powder and yellow peach. A round mouthful but not varietal or charismatic enough to carry it off and lacks energy. Best drinking: now. Don’t wait. 16.5/20, 88/100. 13%, $45. Would I buy it? No.

Colmar Estate Riesling 2022

Muted, acid-led Orange Riesling that isn’t fruity and isn’t bracing, either. Lemon grapefruit acidity, but I was searching for something else. The top Colmar Estate Riesling is great, but this is a bit ho-hum. Best drinking: nowish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12.5%, $35. Would I buy it? No.

Earthworks Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Solid, affordable Barossa Cabernet. Purple blackberry fruit. chubby diffuse blackberry palate. It’s a bit tart, but plenty of soft, hearty blackberry fruit. For the $12 discounted price, this is a bargain. Best drinking: nowish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14.5%, $20. Would I buy it? No, but I’d recommend.

Howard Park Miamup Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2022

Margaret River Sauv Blanc blend. Subtle, slightly sour and neutral thing that doesn’t taste like much. Some late lemon and green veges. Drinkable but unremarkable. Best drinking: nowish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12.5%, $28. Would I buy it? No.

Kirrihill Regional Series Clare Valley Shiraz 2021

Jammy, chunky berried Clare Valley Shiraz. A bit simple jubey fruited, but affable. Lacks some density, but enough purple plum fruit to be pleasant and juicy. I’ve seen this for $12 a bottle too, and at that price, it’s a buy. Best drinking: nowish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14.5%, $19. Would I buy it? No, but would recommend.

La Resistance Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2021

Organic Rhone pink. Nice rose water perfume with some Grenachey perfume. It starts out with more of that raspberry Grenachey fruit, but the palate is ultimately washed out and flavourless, falling away to vague phenolics. It’s fine, and smells ok, but premium rosé it is not. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12%, $40. Would I buy it? No.

Mottura Negroamaro del Salento 2021

Big, luscious Puglian red that tastes much riper than just 13% alcohol. Chocolate coffee-covered raisins, the style thick and dark yet always feeling a bit raisined despite the low alcohol. That oak doesn’t help. No questioning the coffeed impact, and it deserves a bronze medal score, but this sort of drying oaky berry thing isn’t for me. Best drinking: nowish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 13%, $35. Would I buy it? No.

Ponting Top Order Chardonnay 2022

Adelaide Hills Chardonnay from Punter. Hessian and straw and peach. Sweet and sour palate lacks direction – it’s a blunt sort of flavour without the acidity to keep the palate in shape. I want it to either be more full-flavoured or fresher. Best drinking: nowish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 13%, $25. Would I buy it? No.

Taylors Jaraman Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Green and grassy style of punchy Adelaide Hills Sauv. Forward yet high-volume grass and green melon and gooseberry aromatics. Super dry and delineated sour grassy palate too. It finishes a bit hard and green but no doubting the volume. Ends up a bit grating but solid intensity. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12%, $26. Would I buy it? No.

Wren Wines Untamed Semillon 2021

It’s a bit odd to be seeing a Hunter Semillon with two years in bottle. Release it young or keep it back for four years. Still, this is a more forward, skin-contact style, any way that toys with a bit of sweetness to give this lemon and apple juicy plumpness, offset by a slight phenolic crunch. I don’t mind the palate weight, and it’s not short, but it would have been more enjoyable as a younger wine – now it’s just a bit chubby. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 11%, $35. Would I buy it? No.

Wren Wines Vermentino 2021

Getting long in the tooth as well. Nice and varietal Hunter Valley Vermentino and not lacking intensity. The palate looks a bit diffuse, with bottle age knocking off the definition. Better a year ago. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12.5%, $35. Would I buy it? No.

De Bortoli Woodfired Grenache 2021

Heathcote fruit. Bucking the trend towards more high-toned Grenache with a ‘dense’ 14.5% red. Dark ruby coloured. Some red earth Heathcote but also cardboardy and confected. It could be anything, really. Gummy Grenache fruit and fine (added?) tannins. It’s only medium-bodied, too – dense isn’t how I’d describe it. Meh. 16.3/20, 87/100. 14.5%, $22. Would I buy it? No.

Golding The Exchange Chardonnay 2022

Adelaide Hills Chardonnay. Lacks much of a varietal Chard signature despite the alcohol. It’s a bit of an unwooded Chard mode too. Dispirin, tangy lemons, chalky acidity. Underdone, despite its ripe fruit intentions. Best drinking: now. 16.3/20, 87/100. 13.5%, $24. Would I buy it? No.

Taylors Jaraman Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Clare Valley & Coonawarra fruit. Cedary eucalypt, coffee oak and caramel with mint and dark berries. It smells strained. That palate is hard too – aggressive tannins and super sour acidity. It is an aggressive and sour wine, despite the obvious fruit quality. Less would be more. Best drinking: a few more years in bottle will help. But the balance isn’t there. 16.3/20, 87/100. 14.5%, $34. Would I buy it? No.

Wren Wines Sangiovese 2022

Hilltops fruit. Ferns and red berry early picked fruit nose, and it all seems a bit washed out. Confected palate of simple berries. Acid feels sharp-edged and low-intensity fruit. Best drinking: now. 16/20, 87/100. 13%, $35. Would I buy it? No.

Les Argelières Pinot Noir 2021

Aldi-exclusive Languedoc Pinot in classic packaging. Slightly furry and bitter, but straightforward palate is a bit dry and reddish but recognisably Pinot. Sweet and sour finish is a bit dire – those tannins are raw – but it goes ok. This is fine quaffing stuff in a way. Best drinking: now. 15.5/20, 85/100. 13%, $11.99. Would I buy it? No.

Charles Renoir Beaujolais 2021

Affable but straightforward Beaujolais. The red fruit is there but it’s struggling for fruit intensity and just comes across as a bit gummy and finishes bitter. Does the job. Best drinking: now. 15.5/20, 85/100. 12.5%, $11.99. Would I buy it?

Selezione da Gordon Ramsay Elegante Rosato 2021

This is made by Alberto Antonini with old mate Gordon Ramsay. A blend of Abruzzo Montepulciano (50%), Sangiovese (20%) from Tuscany , 15% Tuscan Merlot and 15% Abruzzo Merlot. 15% of the blend went through malo. Cardboardy and looks tired. Little fruit and that has faded into coppery nothingness. Not faulty, but a nothing wine. Best drinking: now. 15.5/20, 85/100. 12.5%, $30.

Harewood Estate Flux-V Pinot Noir 2022

Denmark Pinot Noir. It’s always a ride with the Flux wines, and more misses than hits. This is a long way off the mark – ripe Pinot fruit to the point of diving into bacon bits and leather, with a medicinal edge. There is some red fruit in there and plenty of sweet vanilla ice cream oak before a sweet but leathery and astringent warm finish. A bit of a car crash tbh. Best drinking: now. 15/20, 84/100. 14%, $40. 14%, $11.99. Would I buy it? No.

Rewild Prosecco 2022

Inexpensive, sustainably focussed Prosecco. Cheesy, hay and lemon fruit is already fading in this forward and chubby shapeless sweet sparkling white. A bit of a nothing white. Best drinking: now. 15/20, 84/100. 10%, $10. Would I buy it? No.

Small Talk Pinot Noir 2022

Aldi-exclusive. Big 1-litre bottle of ‘Australian’ Pinot. Furry and a bit astringent with a thin and leafy palate. Look, this gets you a Pinot fix at a low price?! The furry, slightly ferrous thin and unripe cherry palate grates after a while though. Best drinking: now. 15/20, 84/100. 12.5%, $11.99. Would I buy it? No.

The Birds & The Bees Organic Shiraz 2022

Aldi-exclusive. Organic Shiraz. Jubey juice – it tastes cheap and it is. Confected red fruit, no oak, slightly bitter cranberry and boysenberry palate. Sour and thin to finish. I get the intention, but this is pretty simple and cardboard. Get’s the job done for an organic red I guess, but the 2021 was a better wine. Best drinking: now. 15/20, 84/100. $12. Would I buy it? No.

Unspoken Langhorne Creek Shiraz 2022

Aldi- exclusive. Sickly sweet and jubey, the sugar is impossible to miss – it’s a lipstick smear of raspberry fruit that just gets sweeter and sweeter. The sweetness then sticks to the tannins to finish. Unbalanced to the point where I couldn’t finish a glass. Best drinking: now. 14.5/20, 82/100. $12.99, 14%. Would I buy it? No.