Description
Bannockburn Vineyards (25 kms north west of Geelong) have been one of the trailblazers of Australian fine wine for over 37 years. This is made by the new winemaker Matt Holmes and we can tell a great Australian Estate is clearly in safe hands.
There can’t be many Victorian Chardonnays with a track record as impressive as Bannockburn’s. The quality and style on offer can be traced back to the estate’s exceptional, organically farmed sites, the Olive Tree Hill Vineyard (planted in 1976 and abutting the S.R.H parcel) and Winery Block (1981), both on volcanic soils over limestone clays with an average vine age of around 35 years. Recently, the Estate Chardonnay has also included fruit from the Kelly Lane Vineyard (Clone 76), and this release also includes a small component from Stuart’s Block. Whole-bunch pressed and settled overnight, the juice was then wild-fermented in a mixture of 500-litre French oak hogsheads and puncheons (20% new), with 70% undergoing malolactic. The wine spent 10 months on lees with no stirring.
Bannockburn’s Chardonnay has a track record most Victorian producers would give their eye teeth for. The quality and style can be traced back to the estate’s exceptional organically farmed sites. Olive Tree Hill Vineyard was planted in 1976 and abuts the S.R.H. parcel, while Winery Block was planted in 1981. Both lie on volcanic soils over limestone clays with an average vine age of around 35 years. The 2024 Estate Chardonnay also includes fruit from Stuart Block (1997), the close-planted Grigsby (2007) and Kelly Lane Vineyard (2016). The clonal mix comprises P58 and Bernard 76, 95 and 96. Vine spacings and planting densities vary across the sites.
The fruit was pressed as whole bunches and fermented naturally in a mixture of French hogsheads and puncheons (25% new). This year, 100% of the blend went through malolactic fermentation, and the wine spent 10 months maturing on lees with no stirring. Our expectations are always high for this release; each year, the Bannockburn team manages to exceed those expectations. This is a striking Chardonnay. It’s fleshy with stone fruits and citrus underpinned by chalk, flint and nutty/doughy richness. A pure, vivid Bannockburn with saturating presence, piercing acid cut and a precise, lengthy finish.
Is this Australia’s finest Chardonnay? The wine is built for longevity. Decant this profoundly complex and yet ultra fine chardonnay or cellar for a couple of years.
95 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “”This is a hard yes. It’s both flavoursome and frisky, it’s long through the finish, it has texture but it keeps up the momentum. Stonefruit, flint, nashi pear, a umami note and flashes of nougat and cedar. Everything here is in alignment and in harmony. It’s another beautiful chardonnay from Bannockburn.”
93 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review “Light-medium yellow colour; creamy cashewnut, cured hay/silage, singed-herb aromas; light and broad across the palate with seamlessly balanced acidity and a dab of fruit sweetness at the core, then a crisp, herbal, dry finish. The bouquet is still sorting itself out but the palate is excellent.”
RRP $80 *Our Special Price $61.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine* LIMITED TIME AT THIS PRICE
