Summer is definitely gone now.
The weather has turned, Christmas is starting to appear in conversations far too early, and this is usually the point where I start wanting red wine again.
And for a lot of people, that probably means Shiraz.
Australian Shiraz is easy to understand. Normally plenty of fruit, a bit of spice, enough body to feel like proper red wine weather.
Then I spotted this.
Greasy Fingers Luscious Red 2024.
Nobody recommended it to me. Nobody had asked me to review it. I just saw the label in the supermarket and thought it looked quite cool.
Sometimes that is enough.
What is Greasy Fingers Luscious Red?
This is an Australian blend of Shiraz and Grenache.
Shiraz should give us the darker fruit, some pepper and a bit more weight.
Grenache should lift it slightly and bring some brighter fruit into the mix.
At least that is what I was hoping for.
I was also hoping it had not gone down the route some inexpensive Australian reds do, where loads of residual sugar gets left in because it makes the wine soft and immediately easy to drink.
There is obviously a market for that.
It is just not really what I wanted from this.
The name and label are pretty clear about what they are aiming for anyway.
Burger.
Steak.
Something slightly messy where nobody is worrying about table manners.
I can get behind that.
The smell gave the game away
With red wine, I normally tell people to start simple.
Do not try to find fifteen different things.
Ask yourself whether the fruit smells more red or black.
Red cherry, raspberry, strawberry.
Or blackberry, blackcurrant, blueberry.
And if you cannot decide, say plum.
Still one of the safest answers in wine.
With this, I went straight towards black fruit.
Blackberry was there for me, then some of that peppery character you would expect from Shiraz.
It was not massively aromatic at first, so I gave it the usual trick.
Hand over the top of the glass, decent swirl, then lift your hand and smell it straight away.
That helped.
Then I started getting a little red cherry as well, which could easily be the Grenache coming through.
That made it more interesting than just another big dark Shiraz.
Then I tasted it
And actually, I really liked it.
The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to drink.
There is plenty of fruit, it has enough body to feel satisfying, but it is not some enormous red that you need to sit with for two hours.
Medium-bodied is probably where I would put it.
There are tannins there as well.
You get that little bit of grip around the mouth after you swallow, which gives the wine enough structure that I can absolutely see why they have gone down the burger route with the branding.
This with a decent pub burger?
Yes.
Quite happily.
This is very much a Tuesday-night red
I seem to have developed a whole category of wines based on days of the week.
This is definitely Tuesday.
You have cooked a burger, something is on the telly, it is cold outside and you want a glass of red that does not require a huge amount of thought.
That is where Greasy Fingers works for me.
It is fruity enough to be really approachable, but there is enough tannin and spice underneath it that it does not just disappear.
And importantly, I did not get that really obvious sweet finish I was slightly worried about.
That made a big difference.
The name actually makes sense
I normally take wine branding with a fairly large pinch of salt.
But in this case, I think they have got it about right.
This is not trying to be a grand dinner-party bottle.
It wants you eating something with your hands.
Burger.
Steak sandwich.
Something cooked on a barbecue if somebody is brave enough to stand outside in October.
The acidity and tannin give it enough to work alongside richer food, while the fruit keeps it easy to drink.
Nothing complicated going on.
Just quite enjoyable.
Is Greasy Fingers Luscious Red worth buying?
For roughly a tenner, yes.
I would buy it again.
I cannot even tell you with complete confidence which supermarket I bought this particular bottle from because I had seen it in Tesco and I think I paid around £9.50 elsewhere.
Very professional wine journalism here.
But around that price, I think it is good value.
If you like Australian Shiraz but want something with a bit more brightness from the Grenache, give it a go.
If you normally avoid cheaper Australian reds because you are worried they are going to be really sweet, I think this one is worth trying as well.
For me, it is exactly what the label suggests.
Bold enough.
Fruity.
A little grippy.
And very easy to imagine drinking with a burger while curled up in front of the TV.
Luscious red.
Greasy fingers.
Apparently that is me now.
If you want to see the full tasting and my first reaction to Greasy Fingers Luscious Red 2024, watch the video below. And if you have tried it yourself, let me know what you thought. I am interested to know whether this is already somebody’s regular autumn bottle.
