When fun wines get serious: Ben Luker’s Good Clean Fun Meredith range

Having fun literal names for your wines is a problematic exercise. That’s because wine is an inherently conservative business, where any attempt at being less serious eventually gets punished.

Ben Luker has experienced this.

Ben’s simply packaged Good Clean Fun Wines crossed the bench about a year ago, and they presented exactly like the label says. Vibrant, joyful wines with simplicity but also more depth than the label suggests.

And there’s the rub. You look at a wine called Good Clean Fun Party Red and don’t expect something of depth and thought. It just doesn’t fit. So Ben parked the label, swapping out the fun for something more serious under the Meredith Wines label…

I think if I saw the two ranges side by side, I’d unconsciously find myself treating the Meredith Wines with more respect, too. There is authenticity to the Meredith wines, too, which makes it even harder to ignore the validity of this new range.

Ben spelt out the conundrum to me in an email recently:

‘I’ve given Good Clean Fun a rest for the time being and am producing wines under the Meredith Wines label. Long story short, GCF was selling out each year but wasn’t really being seen as the small, handmade producer that it was. This resulted in me hearing the comment, “Actually, these wines are quite good”, one too many times. Subsequently, I’ve changed up my branding to Meredith, which is a reference to the street I grew up on- reflective of the personal connection I have with the wines I make.’

There’s an awful lot to like about this lineup, too. I like the honesty, I like the brightness, I like the fun and particularly how uncompromising these wines are for the dollars.

Meredith Big Fundamental Riesling 2023

Speaking of sneaky quality, this is a surprise packet. This is an ode to the unappreciated glory of Riesling Made in that ‘classic dry style’. Fruit here comes from the Arandale Vineyard in the Grampians. Named after Ben Luker’s favourite NBA player, Tim Duncan – aka Big Fundamental – who ‘quietly went about his business and didn’t have the same ego and demand for attention that a lot of top players seem to have’. Just like local Riesling! Wild fermented, and it’s a juicy limey thing with plump limey fruit. I’m convinced this has some residual sugar to give more generosity, but I could also be off the mark as the finish is unquestionably dry. It’s fragrant too – there is a bit of jasmine in the lime – and plenty of expressive character. 17.7/20, 92/100. 12%, $28

Meredith Marnie Rosé 2023

Making textural lo-fi rosé that works is an art form. This does it well. A blend of Pyrenees Sangiovese and skin contact Pinot Gris from the Camfield Vineyard. The Sangiovese had a few hours on skins, the Gris three days. Cool colour, too – it’s a very light orange. It smells of strawberry, a little musk and blood orange before a nice, refreshing, tangy palate with some phenolic pith and then layers of orange rind and peach. It’s just a yum wine. 17.7/20, 92/100. 12%, $28.

Meredith Spicy Bubbles Pet Nat 2023

A blend of Geelong Riesling & Semillon from the Pettavel Vineyard turned into a clear but interesting pet nat. This was wild fermented with no ads, the resulting wine yellow gold but clear and bright frothy juice. Yellow apple, a little mothball and bruised apple logo oxidative tang, but it’s a clean wine underneath. Tangerine, lemon, yellow apples – it’s a lo-fi tangy wine but clean and crisp. It’s not complex but really quite refreshing and long. 17.5/20, 91/100. 12%, $28.

Meredith New Tricks Grenache 2023

From the Arrawatta Vineyard in the Grampians. Wild fermented, and ‘spicy, bright and subtle’. Easy! Very light ruby and tastes like it’s only just finishing off malo. Raspberry, red musk, pointy acidity, a line of vanilla, sandy tannins a last coating. Light, fun and a bit frivolous vin de soif. There is quality winemaking and fruit here, though it’s more bright and easy than profound. 16.8/20, 89/100. 12.5%, $28.