Beechworth Wine Estates
4.5 Star Winery Rating – Halliday Wine Companion 2022
Pinot Gris 2021
One-third fermented in old oak; matured on lees for six months. Arrives fully formed and in harmony, which can’t easily be said of every 12- month-old gris. Part fermentation in oak has certainly broadened its flavour profile to incorporate a real depth of yellow apple, pear and white peach, together with honeysuckle, ginger cream and just a touch of preserved lemon bite. Its complexity is enhanced by a lovely textural quality. Fab for the price. Rating 93 Silver, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion 2023
A multi-layered chardonnay into which some considered thought has been applied, allowing both the expression of land and winemaker. Delivers almost opulent aromas, rich in cashew, stone fruit, melon and honeyed nougat. The palate is concentrated in fruit flavours, with additional hints of grapefruit and tangelo, together with a lovely, flinty winemaking overlay. Spiced oak, too. A most impressive wine for now and later. Rating 95 Gold, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion 2022
Hand picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented in 500L French oak (30% new). Matured on lees for 10 months. Boasts a bright, medium straw hue with a green tinge. Unites the grape’s citrusy energy with some creamy, leesy textural characters. Grapefruit, lemon drop, nectarine and mango skin aromas. There’s an energy here, brought to the drinker via tangy, juicy acidity and bright fruits. It’s a great drinking combination. Rating 92 Silver, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion 2022
Barbera 2017
Significant step up from the ’16 release. It’s only light to medium-weight but it has presence and conviction. Cherry-berry flavours, sweet spices, dried herbs and raisins. It will be best consumed young but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t drink well over the coming handful of years. Rating 91 Silver, Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion 2019
You can see why it was decided to accord this wine Reserve status: it has effortless communication of cassis, mulberry and plum within a fine gauze of tannins, cut by notes of briar, oak a bystander. Rating 92 Silver, James Halliday Wine Companion 2015
Tempranillo Graciano 2016
80/20% blend with a small percent of whole bunches in the tempranillo ferment. Two weeks on skins before going into old oak. Good colour, lively aroma, buoyant palate. Deliciousness writ large. Redcurrant jelly, violets, meaty spice, anise. It rocks, it rolls, it rumbles with twiggy tannin. No need to wait; this is a ripping drink right now. Rating 91 Silver, Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion 2018
Ben Potts
5 Star Winery Rating – Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Shiraz Fiddle’s Block 2019
Despite the Fiddle’s Block name, the grapes come from multiple Langhorne Creek vineyards aged 15–80 years; the focus on selection of clones including very old sources; hand or machine picked; small concrete or stainless-steel open fermenters; various vinification including part barrel fermented, part extended maceration. Delicious shiraz showing the sense of place to perfection; small red and black berry fruits on a medium-bodied framework of spicy, savoury fruit and oak tannins; lip-smacking finish and aftertaste. Trophy Best Shiraz at Langhorne Creek Wine Show ’21. Rating 96 Gold, James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Cabernet Sauvignon Lenny’s Block 2019
Estate-grown fruit, harvested by hand and machine; open fermented in small concrete and stainless-steel vessels, 10 days on skins, including some barrel fermentation, matured in French oak (20% new). Bright crimson-purple hue, promised and delivered fragrant spicy cassis flavours supported by superfine tannins. Trophy Best Cabernet Sauvignon Langhorne Creek Wine Show ’21. Rating 95 Gold, James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Cofield
4.5 Star Winery Rating – Halliday Wine Companion 2023
A minimum 24 months ageing on yeast lees for this traditional-method sparkling shiraz. Cofield has been making sparkling shiraz for more than 30 years, eschewing too much sweetness in favour of a marginally drier style that allows ripe Rutherglen shiraz full rein. This is a fine example,
the palate bringing forth black and red berries, undergrowth, panforte and a full range of spices wrapped firmly, modestly, in savoury tannins and, of course, bubbles. Rating 92 Silver, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Prosecco NV
This hits the spot with its attractive baked apple and spiced pear flavours from Alpine Valleys fruit. Bright lemony acidity all fresh and lively then finishes crisp and dry. Rating 91 Silver, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion 2020
Sangiovese 2018
A hint of cherries and pips with tangy acidity give this the varietal stamp. It opens up to reveal some squishy ripe fruit, tannins with some give and a neat savouriness to the finish. Easy drinking. Rating 90 Silver, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion 2020
Muscat NV
The complexity of flavours, and the very good texture, suggest this wine is on the border of classic, the next level of quality. Plum/raisin cake, lusciously spiced and layered; the acidity that is an essential part of the style, and is here, freshening the finish and aftertaste. Bargain price. Rating 94 Silver, James Halliday Wine Companion 2020
Gallagher Wines
4 Star Winery Rating – Halliday Wine Companion 2020
Merlot 2017
Medium-weight red with blackberry, leather, dried herb and dark chocolate flavours running through the palate. It’s soft through the palate but talks tougher on the finish; with food you’d hardly notice the mood change. Rating 88 Bronze, Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion 2019
Shiraz 2017
There a dry and slightly gamey note to the finish here, which is distracting, but it’s otherwise flashed with flavour of the black cherry-and-black pepper kind. Indeed in most respects it’s balanced, well flavour and enjoyable. Rating 88 Bronze, Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion 2019
Gipsie Jack
4.5 Star Winery Rating – James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2023
Meaning ‘sweet little one’ in Italian, physiologically dolcetto boasts an array of pulpy purple fruit allusions, moderate acidity and firm tannins. This is no exception, with the extraction a point, making for a gluggable, eminently enjoyable wine that holds plenty of food-pairing cards up its sleeve. Needs time for the oak tannins to integrate. Rating 91 James Halliday Wine Companion 2019
Prime turf for malbec, Langhorne Creek is producing some beauties and this is no exception. Violet aromas segue to a juicy, fulsome palate of abundant blue and dark fruit allusions given tension and further complexity by a hint of reductive smokiness. Malbec’s corpulence absorbs the oak and pH handling better, perhaps, than the other ‘alternative’ varieties in the range. Rating 93 James Halliday Wine Companion 2019
Langhorne Creek is a hotbed of experimentation with newer grape varieties to these shores, particularly Italian culitvars such as this. Delicious scents of blueberry, dried herb and red and black plum leap from the glass. The palate is firm and dutifully extracted, imparting a sinuous weave of tannin to complement gentle oak and a spurt of obtuse acidity. Rating 92 James Halliday Wine Companion 2019
Happs
4 Star Winery Rating – Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Chardonnay 2017
Full of upfront flavour but elegant and restrained to close. White peach and pear flavours come happily married to cedar wood and clotted cream. It’s a wine of power and style already but its best days are a couple of years hence. Rating 92 Silver, Campbell Mattinson Halliday Wine Companion 2020
Kosciuszko
Chardonnay 2021
- Rating 98/100, Gold Medal, 5 Stars, Winestate Magazine
- Rating 95/100, Gold Medal, Wine Showcase Magazine
- Rating 95/100, Gold Medal, NSW Wine Awards
- Rating 95/100, Gold Medal, Australian Cool Climate Wine Show
- Rating 95/100, Gold Medal, NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show
Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
- Rating 92/100, Silver Medal, 2022 Canberra and Region Wine Show
Pinot Noir 2021 Sweetly ripe and complex at the same time offering red cherry, dried herb, warm mushroom and toasted nut characters. The juicy palate displays elegant weight and smooth mouthfeel well framed by fine tannins, finishing silky and lingering. At its best: now to 2027. Rating 91/100, 4 ½ Stars, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit