Let’s call this the anti-Almost Club.
Yesterday’s dive into some of the wines that didn’t quite make the silver medal pass mark is pretty negative, so today I want to roll out a selection of wines that did pass in March 2025.
Importantly, this list includes a smorgasbord of well-priced wines worth your attention, because we all need bargains. A special shout-out to the Longhop Cabernet, which is a $19.99 steal.
Found any bargains lately? I’m always interested – let me know in the comments.
Oh, and there are a few wines here from producers who featured in the Almost Club as well. That’s a bit of a reminder that every wine is judged on its merits on the clinical Australian Wine and Drinks Review HQ tasting bench, and bias is only ok when following your footy team #goswans.
Castello di Meleto Chianti Classico 2022
I was hard on the Riserva yesterday, but this more affordable wine is better. Importantly, it taps into the classic ‘forest berry’ Sangiovese fruit profile. Just medium weight, the oak is a bit choppy but that juicy fruit is spot on. Oak tannins are less fun, especially when they fight with nutty Sangiovese fruit tannins. There is just a little dried fruit in the mix here as well, which is less congruent. Entirely drinkable Chianti though.
Best drinking: now and for five years. 17/20, 90/100. 14%, $55. Would I buy it? No.
Castello di Meleto Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2020
We’re stepping up a few levels to the top Chianti tier again now, with a nutty oak-shaped red with a firm and savoury, slightly rugged extractive palate. The length and tannic width here is spot on, but the cherry fruit is not quite up to all that structure. There is definitely heartiness here, and a bit of beefy sois bois charm – but it’s also starting to look leathery. The longer I sat with this, the more the tannic charm worked on me, but still a step short at these dollars.
Best drinking: no hurry, though it might dry out. 17.5/20, 91/100. ?%, $150. Would I buy it? No.
Castello di Meleto Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna Poggiarso 2020
Brightest colours of the three Chianti wines in this lineup and easily the best wine. Caramel red cherry, balsamic, firm pithy extractive tannins eventually win, and there isn’t the fruit weight to combat them. This has power and length, though, you get all the feels of a rugged, serious Chianti.
Best drinking: fine with a decant now, but the best years are a good five years off. 17.7/20, 92/100. ?%, $150. Would I buy it? Too many dollars for me.
Higher Plane Jewels of Karridale Chardonnay 2024
Too young by half, that’s the only issue here. Margaret River Chardonnay that was barrel fermented and matured in 15% new oak for 9 months. No MLF. It’s so primary and juicy – all melon juiciness with a layer of vanilla creaminess. At the moment it all feels a bit creamy and simple, with some oak spice. Lots of melon too. It’s fun, Chardonnay made properly, just needing another year in the bottle to be delicious.
Best drinking: from 2026. 17.5/20, 91/100. 13%, $30. Would I buy it? A glass.
Higher Plane Led Astray Fume Blanc 2024
Barrel fermented Margaret River Sauv that spent a few months in old oak. It’s plenty substantial, with lots of gooseberry tropical grassiness – more about Sauvignon Blanc flavours than a complex style, with raw citrussy acidity and only some late creamy hints. This is very fresh and has flavour, ifa bit gangly right now.
Best drinking: also from next year. 17/20, 90/100+. 13%, $30. Would I buy it? A glass.
Howard Park Miamup Chardonnay 2023
Fresh, crisp and lean modern Margaret River Chardonnay with all the right flavours. Low oak, and relies on a bit of sulphide funk for flavour, but not harsh – a crisp wine of nectarine and slightly tinny grapefruit acidity. A Google reveals this is available for circa $25, and it’s very drinkable for that price.
Best drinking: nowish, no hurry, it will be still good in 2-3 years. 17.5/20, 91/100. 13%, $30. Would I buy it? A glass.
Longhop Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Old vine Adelaide Plains Cabernet that’s chunky and impressively full. Dom Torzi & Tim Freeland’s label delivers bargains on repeat, and no change here. Milk chocolate, red earth, gritty red earth tannins – it’s bold, warm, ripe with swathes of black fruit. You won’t die wondering but damn this is a lot of wine for $19.99 at the Longhop website. Has length too.
Best drinking: now and for a decade easy. It has the legs. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14.2%, $25. Would I buy it? A glass or two.
Meerea Park Indie Marsanne 2023
The Meerea Park take on a Rhone Marsanne, drawn from Hunter Valley grapes. It’s not a shy wine either, especially as it spends 10 months in oak, with lots of barrel character. Sweet and sour thing with orange rind and tangerine, a cream marmalade thickness and oak tannins. There’s plenty going on here, but not a straightforward, easy wine – it’s a bit broad and chunky. But that substantial creamed peach and tangerine varietal character is interesting in its way, too.
Best drinking: now, it won’t get any better, just rounder. 17/20, 90/100. 13%, $35. Would I buy it? Just a glass.
Meerea Park Indie Marsanne Roussanne 2023
Let’s add a little Roussanne into the mix. On that point, Roussanne is an easy wine to misspell. Anyway, this Hunter Valley white wine with notes of essian, hay, lemon, creamed lemon and red apples. Take the straight wine and add in some apples. Has a chunky sort of creamed lemon and hay edged palate width that is not unappealing. Still, drink up.
Best drinking: now. 17/20, 90/100. 13%, $35. Would I buy it? A glass.
Pewsey Vale Prima 25GR Riesling 2024
It’s the Pewsey Vale take on an off-dry style, and masterfully made Eden Valley Riesling it is too. Juicy, softly acidic, it’s a nice juicy wine with acidity that sneaks up on you. I find the sweetness a bit too simple after a while, yet it’s anything but poor quality wine – just the residual sugar is unnecessary, given how delightful the dry Pewsey Riesling releases are.
Best drinking: now, or wait. I’d go now. 17.5/20, 91/100. 9%, $30. Would I buy it? A glass.
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2 Comments
Hi Andrew. I’ve seen you comment a couple of times now that Australian rieslings ‘don’t need’ residual sugar. I’m keen to understand why you say that, ie why do great German rieslings need it and Australians do not. Is it just that you think Australian conditions are better suited to bone dry? Is it just a style thing etc. Cheers, Andrew
Good question.
It’s a ripeness and balance thing.
We don’t struggle getting Riesling grapes ripe in any major winegrowing region in Australia. So the issue of a lack of flavour and sky high acidity in finished wines is a non-issue (bar some parts of Tassie, which uncoincidentally have a similar HDD as the Mosel). We have more problems with sunburn than unripeness.
Compare that to cold, sometimes wet Mosel, where historically you’re dealing with grapes that just don’t have the sugar ripeness. There, you really need residual sugar to soften the perception of acidity and add in flavour. Note that I say historically, because that is changing now, with climate change (and changing tastes) meaning that the most exalted wines are now dry (sub 10g/L residual sugar).
Obviously there will always be a place for sweet wines, but even the Germans don’t rely on sugar for balance as much as they needed to.
Bringing that back to Australia, in places like the Eden or Clare Valleys there is zero need to leave sugar behind in the quest for generosity and drinkability – Jeff Grosset’s 13% alcohol Riesling releases are bone dry and definitely not lacking in flavour.
So often then, in an Australian context, off-dry Riesling (off-dry anything) rarely has the balance of drier wines, because residual sugar is such a dominant flavour. It’s like oak – it’s a mono flavour. And tasting the dry Pewsey Vale ‘standard’ Riesling side by side with the 25g/L residual sugar Prima and the sweetness tends to stick out.
I’m a bit hard-nosed on this, and there are plenty of wines where sub-perceptive levels of sugar (so >5g/L) help dramatically. Yet as a whole, off-dry Riesling is never truly convincing when the same winery can make great dry Riesling.