REVIEWS
-
2016 Wine Companion tasting notes
James Halliday - Published on 27 Jul 20152013 Chardonnay
Rating: 97
Drink By: 2030
Price: $55.00
Date Tasted: 05 Mar 2015
Alcohol: 13%From Smiths Vineyard, planted '78; fermented for 17 months in French oak (35% new). It has incredible drive, intensity and length to its grapefruit, green apple and white peach palate, yet it's not the least heavy, and with the screwcap to safeguard it, will have a minimum 15-year life span.
-
2016 Wine Companion tasting notes
James Halliday - Published on 27 Jul 20152014 Cherish
Rating: 93
Drink By: 2016
Price: $28.00
Date Tasted: 05 Mar 2015
Alcohol: 12%Salmon-pink; has a highly spiced bouquet; both it and the palate ride on a delicate carpet of fraises du bois, then a long, dry and crisp finish. Best enjoyed on a sunlit day under the shade of a tree.
-
2016 Wine Companion tasting notes
James Halliday - Published on 27 Jul 20152012 Shiraz
Rating: 93
Drink By: 2027
Price: $55.00
Date Tasted: 05 Mar 2015
Alcohol: 13.5%Relatively light-bodied, but has elegance and finesse written all over it, with wreathes of spice and pepper on its sultry red fruits and superfine tannins, oak a means, not an end in itself.
-
2016 Wine Companion tasting notes
James Halliday - Published on 27 Jul 20152012 Gallice
Rating: 95
Drink By: 2032
Price: $55.00
Date Tasted: 05 Mar 2015
Alcohol: 13.5%A wine with attitude, although it's quite restrained in the way it expresses itself; the interplay between cassis, herb, spice and earth constantly shifts its centre point, but never its length or balance.
-
REVIEW BY LISA PERROTTI-BROWN MW - #218
www.eRobertParker.com - April 20152012 Golden Ball 'Gallice' Cabernet Merlot Malbec
A Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec Dry Red Table wine from Beechworth.
Rating: 87+ | Drink 2015 - 2020
The 2012 'Gallice' Cabernet Merlot Malbec displays a medium to deep garnet-purple color and aromas of warm red and blackcurrants, mulberries and plums with hints of pencil shavings, dried herbs and damp earth. Medium-bodied and tightly knit in the mouth, it gives tons of youthful fruit with firm chewy tannins and acidity on the very cirsp side, finishing with good length and purity.
-
REVIEW BY LISA PERROTTI-BROWN MW - #218
www.eRobertParker.com - April 20152012 Golden Ball Shiraz
A Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec Dry Red Table wine from Beechworth.
Rating: 89 | Drink 2015 - 2018
The 2012 Shiraz gives a deep garnet-purple color and aromas of black cherries, wild blueberries, violets and plums with baking spice and vanilla hints. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with juicy black fruit flavors, lifted by crisp acidity and supported by rounded tannins, finishing with very good length.
-
REVIEW BY HUON HOOKE
www.huonhooke.com - March 2015Shiraz 2012
Rating 93: | Drink 2014 - 2036
Deep, youthful colour with purple tints. The aromas are spicy, gently herbal and almost stalky, with a certain fuminess. It’s fresh and elegantly structured in the mouth, with lively texture and vibrancy.
Very good wine: mouthwatering, energetic and would go well with food.
-
REVIEW BY LISA PERRITT-BROWN - #217
www.eRobertParker.com - February 20152013 Golden Ball 'la-bas' Chardonnay
Rating: 92+ | Drink 2015 - 2020
A Chardonnay Dry White Table wine from Beechworth, Victoria, Australia,
The 2013 'la-bas' Chardonnay is scented of tropical fruits - passion fruit and guava - with honeydew melon and honeyed toast suggestions plus a hint of buttered popcorn. Medium-bodied with a satiny texture, it fills the palate with tropical fruits and honey-nut goodness with a racy acid spine and long, layered finish.
-
REVIEW BY LISA PERROTTI-BROWN MW - #217
www.eRobertParker.com - February 20152012 Golden Ball ‘là-bas’ Chardonnay
Rating 93+ | Drink 2015 - 2020
The 2012 'là-bas' Chardonnay offers aromas of ripe apricots, grapefruit and green mango with nuances of struck match, cashews, ginger and allspice.
Medium-bodied, it is packed with stone fruit and yeasty/toasty flavors with a dollop of sulfides for interest and a crisp acid line for lift. It finishes long.
-
JAMES HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION
2015 EDITION
www.winecompanion.com.aulà-bas Beechworth Chardonnay 2012
Rating 97 | To 2030 - $55
This packs enormous power under the bonnet, the acceleration across the palate almost intimidating; if it comes from the Smiths Vineyard, that power should in fact come as no surprise.
Whether viewed from the perspective of depth, or from length, this is out on its own, moving the goal posts for all except Giaconda.
Screwcap. 13% Alc.
-
JAMES HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION
2015 EDITION
www.winecompanion.com.auBeechworth Shiraz 2010
Rating 95 | To 2030 - $55
The colour is excellent, the bouquet floral, the palate with a beautifully articulated, juicy stream of red fruits backed by superfine tannins and well weighted oak.
Diam. 13.8% Alc.
-
JAMES HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION
2015 EDITION
www.winecompanion.com.auGallice Beechworth Cabernet Merlot Malbec 2010
Rating 94 | To 2030 - $55
Good colour; the bouquet and palate are assured and calm, with layers of ripe, dark fruits led by blackcurrant, complexity courtesy of the appropriately firm tannins on the finish.
Diam. 13.8% Alc.
-
REVIEW BY HUON HOOKE
October 20142012 Golden Ball 'la-bas' Chardonnay
Rating 92 | Drink 2014 - 2019
Light to medium, bright yellow hue; nougat aromas coupled with creamy yeast-lees notes and a soft but dry palate. The acid is shrill, almost a bit too much, and it needs food to show of its best. Tight, fine and long. It's very good: a wine with potential yet to fulfill. With food, the acidity was not noticeable; indeed it seemed positively soft.
-
JAMES HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION
2014 EDITION - Dark Horse Award
www.winecompanion.com.auThere was a large number of contenders for this recognition, and in part to reduce that number to a more manageable level I have followed last year’s pre-qualification that the winery in question has not previously acheived a five-star rating, although many have been knocking on the door of five stars over the years.
Golden Ball Beechworth, Vic - Page 292
Planting of the 4ha vineyard began in 1996, and now has an eclectic range of varieties. James McLaurin have been content to fly under the radar, and have had little difficulty in selling the wines direct to a Who’s Who of Melbourne’s best restaurants and a handful of specialist wine stores.