The Almost Club September/October 2023 Edition – 19 wines that almost made it

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

Here is a collection of 19 wines that almost made it in September and October 2023.

If anything, I’m hard on some of the more affordable wines in this selection. The Rioja Reserva below is a comparative bargain if ultimately a simple wine and worth you $12.99. The Ansonica, not so much…

Babich Family Estates Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2021

A quality Sauvignon Blanc that would have been better a year ago. Sourced from the certified organic Headwaters Vineyard in Marlborough. Includes some malolactic fermentation. Green straw, the fruit lemony but soft, a ripe and round maturing Marlborough Sauv with some slight toast on the edges. It looks a bit shapeless with the extra bottle age, especially in this riper mode, though the intensity is still there. Best drinking: now. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13%, $25.

Clandestine Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

The classic ‘almost’ wine. Frankland River Cabernet fruit which should be great, but the ripeness feels mixed – green and stewed all at once – and the tannins show it. There’s intensity though, which saves things a bit and makes this a better wine. 16.8/20, 89/100. 14.5%, $35.

Clandestine Vineyards Pinot Gris 2023

The Clandestine Vineyards variability rollercoaster continues. This is King Valley fruit from a vineyard planted in 1992. Partial barrel ferment and old oak maturation. Definitely ripe – it feels a bit stodgy and chunky and missing a little high-toned freshness. A little more lift and less grip and warmth would be very welcome. It is not lacking power, though. Best drinking: nowish. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13.5%, $28.

Howard Park Flint Rock Shiraz 2020

A solid, varietal Great Southern Shiraz with cooked dark fruits cut with the red earth, cranberry, black olive and ham regional stamp. There’s something just a bit baked here – that dark plum fruit is drying out and getting leathery. Plenty of power, not quite enough grace, though it’s not expensive either. Best drinking: over the next five years. 16.8/20, 89/100. 14.5%, $30.

Innocent Bystander Gamay Pinot Noir 2022

No region noted for this light red, but a little digging reveals a blend of King Valley & Yarra Valley fruit. Enjoyable, no-fuss red, even if it lacks a bit of bite. Gummy red cherry and juicy raspberry fruit to the fore, the texture is a little tarry, the flavours all front palate and juicy. It falls away into a tinny thinness on the finish. Varietal and quite pretty early drinker, and spot on for price and style. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13.5%, $25.

Neve Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Aldi-exclusive Malbrough Sauv Blanc and, contextually, bargain drinking. It’s just a bit green, with dill, green melon and crunchy lime grassiness before a palate that is dry and actually quite intense. It’s just a bit green and herbal (like many 2022 Marlborough Sauv) but hey, it’s actually powerful. 16.8/20, 89/100. 12.5%, $8.99.

Sapling Yard Sangiovese 2022

Hilltops Sangiovese, I think, but the label doesn’t make it obvious. On the lean side, with bacony twiggy mulch and ironstone, early picked Sangio fruit that renders a ferrous, cherry-fruited, if slightly gruff, light red. There’s a Pinot-esque delicacy here, though it remains a marginal, slightly bitter sort of wine. Best drinking: over the next few years. 16.8/20, 89/100. 12.8%, $30

Tolloy Pinot Grigio 2022

Fully priced Alto Adige Pinot Grigio. White pear, a bit of sea spray neutral, crisp but water-clear freshness. It’s a real white fruit. It’s a nice neutral drink and not lacking in Grigio-ness. Unremarkable, but hey, it’s Grigio. Best drinking: now. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13%, $40

Woodstock Fiano 2023

The inaugural Woodstock Fiano, made with McLaren Vale grower fruit (ahead of estate plantings coming on soon). Waxy pear juice, a little cloudy apple tang. It’s more about chalkiness than actual flavour, with a tart apple juice tang, but refreshing in a simple mode. Best drinking: now. 16.8/20, 89/100. 12.5%, $28.

Gundog Estate Wild Semillon 2023

Another vintage where I struggle with the Wild one. Off-dry and wild-fermented Hunter white. My gripe is that it lacks an edge this year – a bit shapeless, with the sweetness dulling the palate. Plenty of gentle lemon apple citrus, but it just goes blah. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 10.5%, $35.

Howard Park Miamup Rosé 2023

A WA Shiraz blend. Watery pink, washed-out strawberry fruit and tight palate. A bit of musk, but otherwise dry and a bit short. A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it wine. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12.5%, $30.

Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2021

Grenache Syrah from the southern Rhone. I saw this label in an Austrian supermarket – it’s everywhere. Orange coloured, with ruby red grapefruit, a musky strawberry and a gently textured palate. This is fine, uncomplicated drinking – that plump strawberry fruit is honest. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12%, $20

Lowe Bio-logical Shiraz 2023

Preservative-free organic Mudgee Shiraz. Plump and super jubey. Clear bottle, full of just-finished-fermenting purple juice. Slightly tart. Primary. Energetic. Primary energy with a light touch. It’s closer to Ribena than wine, but pleasant in a tart and cheery way. Not my thing – and expensive for what it is – but there is simple drinking ease here. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 13%, $45.

Marques Del Atrio Rioja Reserva 2017

An Aldi-exclusive Rioja Reserva for $12.99 under screwcap. Easy. Leather and sawdust. The palate relies on oak sweetness with not much fruit left. That savoury, woody barrel character makes it interesting but not much else. Not short, however, which saves it. Best drinking: soonish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14%, $12.99.

Yalumba Gen Organic Shiraz 2021

Simple purple berry fruit. That’s the criticism – it’s a pulpy, straightforward South Australian Shiraz of easy, plummy appeal but with a more premium price tag. I get it, though – such obviously approachable purple berry fruit and little tannins. I know Yalumba can do much better. Best drinking: now. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14%, $22.

A.C. Byrne & Co. Cabernet Merlot 2022

A lesser vintage for this reliable, Aldi-exclusive Margaret River red. A smudgy, indistinct, but pleasant red that lacks much varietal character – it’s all vanilla bean plump business, in a blobby sort of way. Best drinking: now. 16.3/20, 87/100. 14.5%, $10.99.

Lowe Bio-logical Ansonica 2023

Murray Darling fruit. Preservative free. My first Australian Ansonica! An unremarkable sort of wine, though – pineapple and blackcurrant with a certain fruit sweetness and waxy oxidative notes before a very crunchy finish. Intention js good, but this feels like a broad-brushed wine looking for a personality. Young vines? Would explain the lack of definition. Best drinking: now. 16.3/20, 87/100. 11.5%, $42.

South Point Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2023

This is $4.99 and worth every cent. That’s it. The score is sort of irrelevant, as for this price point if you get a sound drinkable wine. And it’s sound and drinkable. Forward lemongrass fruit, the light and lemony palate is taut enough that it elevates beyond acid juice onto (just) varietal Sauv. Light on, but man, for $4.99, it’s a lot better than the cask equivalent. 15.8/20, 86/100. 11.5%, $4.99.

El Niño de Campillo Rioja 2021

Aldi-exclusive. Tempranillo. Creamy vanilla bean oak sits all over everything, then a soupy bitter palate with a suggestion of something lactic and less-than-clean. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Somewhere in between mousiness, some horrible lactic thing, and bad oak. It’s really not great, regardless. Best drinking: now. 14.5/20, 82/100. 14%.

THE VERDICT

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