Some Young Punks hanging around Imbibe

I love kitsch. I should have been a teenager in the 1950’s, although then it would have been high culture. I would have been an avid reader of anything pulp fiction. “Spicy Adventure Stories”,  “Unwilling Sinner”, “Sin on Wheels”, I would have collected them all! So when I spotted Passion has Red Lips by Some Young Punks, South Australian winemakers, at the Imbibe show recently, I had to stop. Like a moth drawn to a flame, I couldn’t stop myself from trying the wine. I know I shouldn’t have been suckered in by the label but I was….

So what are Some Young Punks up to? A trio of winemakers causing havoc in South Australia, the grapes come from Clare Valley, Langhorne Creek, the Barrosa, Adelaide Hills and any other appellation I may have missed from that part of the world. The punks credo is to make “charismatic wines that are true to what we think ‘wine’ should be about. If someone doesn’t like the way we do it then they had better put the bottle down because there’s already not enough to go around.” Although they may seem like they’re kidding around, these winemakers, Col McBryde, Jen Gardner and Nic Bourke make some serious wine.

These wines are seriously Australian as well. There is no mistaking the ethnicity of these wines. Heaps of fruit, full on, in your face, don’t mess with me reds. Subtle is not a word often heard around these wines. The 2009 Passion has Red Lips certainly lives up to it’s name. A blend of McLaren Vale cabernet and Clare Valley shiraz, passionately berry, extremely perfumed, I took a step back after taking a sip. Juicy plums, blackberries, blackcurrants and a smoky edge to it all on a lush, full body. Phew!

I still don’t get the name of the next wine, The Squid’s Fist 2009. Do squids even have hands? No? How do they have fists then? Anyway, I suppose that’s something to ponder while you down this baby. Another blend, this time sangiovese from Barossa and shiraz from the McLaren Vale, very fruit driven, blueberries and blackberries, slight tobacco notes calling out at the end, quite a character. I thought this would go well with some salty snacks.

So there you have it. The label suckered me in but the wines were good and if you’re looking for some wines with ker-pow! these are it. I’d like to try their other wines but for now only these are available as far as I know. You can order them from FindWineUK

10 Comments

  1. Oops did it again …we are producing some beautiful pinot noir’s, eg recommend ” 9th island ” from Tasmania, and obviously in an OZ summer there is always white, champagne and rose…In relation to rose I believe we are yet to quite match the French but we’re getting there, recommend Dominic Portet out of Victoria, enjoy, cheers

    • Thanks for your interesting and thoughtful comments. As you said, there are many styles of wine around and it is a bit unfair to lump all Oz wines into one particular style. I have had some whites and reds from Tasmania and more recently from Kingsland (I think that was the region) wines made by Mac Forbes. The Oz wine culture is evolving and we’ll be waiting for them here in the UK!

  2. Just getting the hang of posting and blogging…to continue, the french would hotly deny they mass produce wine but that’s the french for you; an argument could be mounted that given the marked differences in style between the various wine growing regions in OZ,there are now a number of styles coming out of OZ rather than an ” OZ” style of wine, ” some young punks” being one of many, perhaps being representative of Gen Y’ers…eg: any comparison between a red from Margaret River in WA and the eastern states, say the Barossa or cool climate Victoria is going to show marked differences…having said that I fell for ” syp’s” ‘passion has red lips’ heavily, and yes it does need decanting, additionally I wouldn’t drink it in an OZ summer, here in Sydney, we are producing some beautiful pinky noir

  3. Jeremy Raine /

    Above comments are fascinating, assume everybody from the UK, I hail from an Anglo OZ family, brought up in Sydney with strong connections in South Australia, particularly the Barossa Valley, so have had the good fortune to have had wines from both the new world and the old on the dining table;
    All you’re comments are valid but stick with it and keep tasting
    If, for eg you were brought in the UK you’re first taste may well have been from Nuit St George one of the largest french export reds, very pleasant but the closest thing the french have to dmass market wine

  4. I tried the Passion has Red Lips and absolutely loved it! Called around our area and finally found it at one of our wine markets, and yes unfortunately it is a little pricey. I do agree with the review above, it was bold and fruity but ended with a smooth finish. This is my idea of a sexy wine!

  5. We showed Double Love Trouble at the Big Indie Wine Fest at the weekend. Opened on the day the wine was not good and we took it off the table. I took the bottle home and tried it the next day – bloody marvelous. Next time we show it we will decant a couple of times to get some oxygen in!

  6. Absolutely love the packaging

  7. Myself and a few others tried these wines at a trade tasting a few months back and were distinctly underwhelmed after hearing all the hype, particularly given the prices. I think I need to try them again to give them a fair assessment, but for me they didn’t really stand up to the competition at all.

    • Bear in mind, they ARE South Australian wines. Not subtle at all, bigger is better seems to be their motto. I don’t know the prices so could be they are overpriced but they seemed to me typical examples of S Oz young red wine. I prefer subtler wines but I can see them having a definite place in the market and many fans, if you like those massive New World wines. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

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