The Almost Club September 2024 edition – 30 wines that almost made it this month

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

Here are 30 wines that almost made the silver medal grade in September 2024. From friendly, sub $20 quaffs to not-so-cheap disappointments and a shitload of ‘meh’ wines in between…

Barwang Shiraz 2022

The Almost Club features plenty of wines that are just fine. No alarms, no surprises, and minimal dollars. This Barwang Shiraz is a bit rough and tumble but plenty of flavour. Slightly reductive, with red berries, a bit of ferrous ironstone and tilled earth, and slightly rustic edges. Rock-solid flavour, if just a bit too much confection/chewy contrasts to be seductive. 16.8/20, 89/100. 14%, $25.

Earthworks Riesling 2023

Straightforward South Australian Riesling, but a bargain when you can pick it up in retail land for $12. Fleshy limey palate with a crisp finish. Juicy, a little simple, with a slightly candied and diffuse finish, but approachable and entirely drinkable. 16.8/20, 89/100. 10.5%, $20.

Feudo Arancio Inzolia 2023

Salty, fresh and tangy Sicilian white that just rolls through like a beach breeze. Pear, grapefruit, something a little riper – like a yellow apple – on a light, crunchy palate filled with crisp, saline acidity. It’s not long, but the crisp, lemony intensity is spot on for style and refreshment. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13%, $20.

Howard Park Flint Rock Chardonnay 2023

Great Southern fruit here. I chilled this down in the freezer and left it too long and it tasted like nothing. Woops. As it defrosted the creamy nougat and creamed peach juice rose out of the glass, although this feels like it’s missing a few beats of concentration. It’s ok. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13%, $30.

Howard Park Miamup Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Dusty, slightly sour, and leafy Margaret River Cabernet has some character, but it’s a little lean and lumpy. There is some nice minty blackberry fruit; although It’s warm and sharply acidic, it feels like actual Margaret River wine. Sub $20, and this would be a winner. 16.8/20, 89/100. 14.5%, $30.

Howard Park Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Varietal Sauvignon Blanc, but just a bit lumpy. Gooseberry, woody herbaceousness and some passionfruit – it lacks a bit of flavour, suggesting that it’s a bit too early picked. The winemaking is assured, though. Half a baume would do wonders here. 16.8/20, 89/100. 11.5%, $32.

Nicholas Potel Petit Chablis 2022

Correct, Chablis, but man, that price stings. Singular wet stones and unripe peach, gravelly acidity. Simple stuff, but very correct. A drinking Chablis is what a decent Petit Chablis should be. 16.8/20, 89/100. 12.5%, $70.

Paisley Keyboard Rosé 2024

Barossa Mataro-based. Plenty of sweet pink fruit and then a dry, angular finish. Crisp, but not quite enough to it. 16.8/20, 89/100. 12.5%, $25.

Tahbilk Museum Release Shiraz 2014

This feels like classic Tahbilk Shiraz, but you’ve got to love a little rusticity. Fruit is a distant memory, really, as its all terracotta, caramel and the remnants of plums. Oak looks to be the main element hanging around. This is hearty, but pretty basic dusty, savoury old red. Drink up – it’s getting a bit dusty and creaky at the edges. 16.8/20, 89/100. 14%, $30.95.

Earthworks Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Rough-hewn but not insubstantial Barossa Cab. Leafy, pencilly, ferny Cab aromatics, a chunky but savoury and slightly bitter palate. Varietal, but the bitterness sneaks up on you. The oak and fruit intensity makes this feel like fancy declassified wine, if a bit rough. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14.5%, $20.

Earthworks Tempranillo 2022

Probably the best of this range, a simple joven style with some varietal milk chocolate berries, new leather, and a simple fruity jubey palate of obvious juiciness and a little creamy softness. This is affable, fruit-forward red wine. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14.5%, $20.

Feudo Arancio Grillo 2023

Nothing wrong with this primary, juicy Sicilian white. A fruit salad of stonefruit and passionfruit, fleshy flavours, light acidity, easy fruity enjoyment. You could drink oceans of this on a Sicilian holiday, even if its hardly profound. 16.5/20, 88/100. 13%, $20.

Hentyfarm Pinot Meunier 2023

A study in contrasts. On the one hand, a nice tangy red apple Meunier appeal here, but it’s also a bit horsey and less-than-pure. The sky-high acidity on the finish freshens everything up, but it’s like an unclean sparkling wine. 16.5/20, 88/100. 11.8%, $45.

Logan Logan Lab Petit Verdot 2022

The (surprising) lesser wine in the Logan Lab range. It’s vegetal yet stewed, with capsicum and macerated cherry. A layer of coffeed oak, but mainly that greenish fruit. I can’t see the prettiness – it’s a bit of an awkward thing despite the nice tannins. 16.5/20, 88/100. 13.5%, $45.

Peter Lehmann Mentor Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Underwhelming Barossa Cabernet (just like the 8 Songs). Deep dark red, it’s all spearmint, and dark choc-minty palate has plushness but also max eucalypt, with raw-edged tannins to finish things off. I can’t get past the eucalyptus, despite the flavour length. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14%, $50.

d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original Grenache Shiraz 2021

Bound to age well, but a forward release of this icon. Rustic ironstone, tilled earth, grippy black earth tannins and some horsey bits too. It’s not exactly spotless, but it has lots of grippy red earth and savoury leathery charm. This has a place, even if it’s old-fashioned and needs a polish. 16.5/20, 88/100. 14.5%, $22.

Francois Lurton La Mule en Provence Rosé 2022

Well packaged and well $12.99 rosé. Watery pink, and a light wine of watered-down strawberries and watermelon flavour. Effortless and delicate, it’s a Provence experience, if a bit underpowered for excitement. Bet it’s wildly popular. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12.5%, $12 99.

Mayfield Vineyard Three Boys Cabernet Blend 2023

I get the intention, but this pair of Mayfield Cab releases just look way underdone, which rarely works for Orange. This is a Cab Merlot/Cab Franc blend. I don’t get why this is so early picked as it just doesn’t work. Light glossy ruby fruit, a bit of capsicum and ferns, the palate just doesn’t get past the middle mark. It’s friendly, but so short. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12%, $30.

Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio 2023

Basic Italian Grigio. Chalky and lean mode, lean pear juice palate. It’s just a bit sour and very simple going. Super correct chalky mode but pretty basic. $14.99, and it would be fine, but not worth much more. 16.5/20, 88/100. 12.5%, $20.

d’Arenberg The Mind Palace Sangiovese 2022

McLaren Vale Sangiovese. Looks and tastes like varietal Sangiovese, too – leathery red berries, a bit horsey, some authentic drying Sangiovese sandpaper tannins, and a curious lack of fruit. The closer you look, the more you realise this is just tannins and little generosity. Yeah, nah. 16.3/20, 87/100. 14%, $32.

A.C. Byrne & Co. Margaret River Chardonnay 2023

Generic Margaret River Chardonnay for laughably few dollars. Clean, crisp basic Chardonnay where you have to squint to see the Margaret River grapefruit stamp. Light tangy peach and a light creamy edge with a bit of raw grip to finish. It’s fine, but worth spending extra for some character. 16/20, 87/100. 13.6%, $10.99.

Earthworks Rosé 2023

South Australian fruit. Sweet and sour pink fruit gets a bit candied, and there is a weird lumpy, grippy, chalky finish. So sweet and sour that it never feels cohesive. 16/20, 87/100. 12.1%, $20.

Earthworks Barossa Shiraz 2022

Entry-level Barossan from the Hill Smith world. Great purple-red colours and a pulpy sort of juicy confected palate that looks both dusty and sweet, then finishes warm. Feels a bit concocted. 16/20, 87/100. 14.5%, $20.

Hewitson Madame M Blanc 2023

Muscat and Sauvignon Blanc from the Adelaide GI. Muscat dominates at every turn, with sweaty musk. Misses a best in the intensity, with mundane grassy Sauv a boring support act. Shortish. Not there for me. 16/20, 87/100. 11.5%, $28.

Nuiton-Beaunoy Hautes Cotes du Beaune 2021

Smudgey, underwhelming Burgundy. Raisin, cranberry, sweet and sour, sausagey and a little bretty with some bandaids. Pretty low-grade stuff. 16/20, 87/100. 12.5%, $55.

Jean Loron Jean Chardonnay 2023

Tinned, candied peach juice. Very peachy and obvious, with oak adding another layer of peachy fruit sweetness. Easy going, but confected and cheap tasting obviousness. The oak tastes like it came in powdered form. 16/20, 87/100. 13%, $30.

Mayfield Vineyard Jonty Met Otto Cabernet Franc 2023

Light-bodied, this Franc looks greenish, with the early picking making for half a wine. There is an initial flourish of red fruit but a stunted palate that is just tannins and acidity (plenty of both). 16/20, 87/100. 12%, $37.

Hentyfarm Malakoff Vineyard Shiraz 2023

Puzzling wine, especially given the grapes are A-plus (read more about the Malakoff Vineyard here FYI). Lighter colours than 14% suggest. It’s super reductive, which helps no one, but underneath, it’s muddled, with a sweet, sour, jumbled palate that doesn’t taste much. I hope this is a bad bottle – it’s not faulty but hardly convincing. 15.8/20, 86/100. 14%, $35.

Jean Loron Jean Pinot Noir 2023

Very basic, cheap-tasting Vin de France. Correct colour. Candied fruit. It’s a little mint, but it lacks fruit ripeness and looks like high-yielding juice. Finishes with a leafy green edge. 15.8/20, 86/100. 13.5%, $30.

JP Drouet Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Loire Sauvignon Blanc for every $10 at Aldi. The school Euro packaging style looks fancy, though. Mothballs and unripe tinned passion fruit, tinny palate with not much flavour. €2.50 in a Carrefour stuff, but the passionfruit lifts up the dusty palate enough. It’s perfectly drinkable for the price. 15.8/20, 86/100. 12%, $10.