News & Reviews

Greetings from Bannockburn,

We have recently reached the end of Vintage 2024, and what a ride it was!

As reported in previous newsletters, the early stages of the growing season were favourable, without extreme temperatures, but with warm and dry spring weather. Aided by consistent conditions at flowering, a strong fruit set, and pleasant weather leading up to Christmas, we ended 2023 on a high, with good soil moisture and balanced canopies.

The early January weather was warm, but the season dried right out, and we didn't get a drop of rain as the grapes moved through the degrees of ripening. As a result, the harvest crept up quickly, and we were promptly in full swing; picking of Chardonnay began on February 23rd and Pinot Noir on February 29th. The vintage progressed quickly as most blocks ripened concurrently, and we pushed to keep up. The Labour Day weekend offered an extreme four days of 35+ degree temperatures, but we worked hard and fast to ensure all Chardonnay and most Pinot Noir was picked before this heat spike. Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gamay came in good volumes after the heat and with promising quality. Shiraz was picked from March 19th and across the next week, and the last pick of the season was Cabernet Sauvignon on March 25th.

Generally speaking, the fruit came to the winery in good condition, flavours were ripe and concentrated, and bunch sizes were consistent. Vineyard sorting of overripe berries resulted in clean fruit for fermentations, which ran smoothly across varieties. Overall, heat accumulation bears similarities to the 2018 and 2019 vintages, but the shape of the season was unique in that the heat came later and with few extremes. As the wines take shape, we can see that 2024 will be a powerful vintage. White varieties are flavourful, balanced wines of depth and concentration. The reds are structured, deep in colour and bold in flavour and intensity. After the last four years of cooler seasons, the 2024 vintage will offer a pleasant change as we embrace the qualities of a warmer year in the Geelong region.

In the meantime, we are very excited to offer 2023 Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Sauvignon Blanc as an exclusive pre-release to our mailing list before the official release date on May 1st. The 2023 season was a cool and light-cropping year, but we couldn't be happier with the results. The Chardonnay is so pure, with piercing acid drive and persistence through the palate. The Pinot Noir is bright, heady, aromatic and full of red fruits alongside typical twigs and spices from our site. The Gamay (limited to 3 bottles per person) is a beauty and offers a further glimpse into the epic potential for this variety on our property as the vines get some age. The Sauvignon Blanc carries typical varietal aromas and flavours gracefully alongside our limestone soils' flinty and mineral characters. More detailed notes and the brilliantly worded Winefront reviews are listed further down the page. We have also included some back vintages of Shiraz for your consideration, including a mixed vertical tasting pack.

Thanks again for your ongoing support. We certainly hope you enjoy this latest release as much as we do. We will be in touch again in July.

Cheers,
Bannockburn Vineyards

Chardonnay 2022
94 points - Pure fruit, perfect balance, lots of length. It will need time to build complexity but everything here appears to be in excellent working order. Pear, apple, grapefruit and white peach flavours come littered with sea shells and smoky, cedarwood oak. Nothing is overdone; everything glides along. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

Gamay 2022
93 points - Inaugural release of a gamay from Bannockburn. It was grown on vines that were planted in 2014, they were only grafted over to gamay in 2019. It was fermented, wild, with 100% whole bunches (cab mac) and then, while still fermenting, was destemmed and pressed to one-year-old oak. This is a gorgeous wine to drink. It’s especially gorgeous if you don’t mind some reductive characters, which are overt at first though they gradually blow off, or largely so. It’s spicy, floral, exuberant in its strawberry-cherry flavours, blessed with garden herb/earth/woodsmoke characters – it’s wildly complex – but all the while it stays true to the main mission, which is to be a light red of immesh drinkability. This is a winner. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

Pinot Noir 2022
95+ points - I really like where the Bannockburn wines are at right now. I guess that you’d call this light but its length and general insistence is right up there. Indeed over the course of 24 hours this just built and expanded in the most impressive of ways. It’s a minerally pinot noir, smoky and spicy, with red cherried flavour run through with herbs and twigs and undergrowth. In its infancy, now, it somehow manages to be quite remarkably complex; it will only add from here. Certainly it’s light but this is an outstanding pinot noir. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

Grigsby Chardonnay 2022
95 points - This is the second release from the estate’s close-planted, certified organic vineyard. This is rich. If chardonnay flavour is your desire, then come hither. It offers a liberal serve of grilled peach flavour, with nectarine, citrus, sweet spice and cedarwood oak, and then layers custard powder characters through the aftertaste. It’s an excellent, well-tailored rendition of the fuller chardonnay style. Importantly it runs fresh and lengthy to close, with hints of reductive character there too, which is a bonus. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

SRH Chardonnay 2022
97 points - Grown on 12 rows of chardonnay planted at Bannockburn near Geelong in the mid 1970s. Great release. Commanding. Assertively fruited, structured through the finish, and long. Grapefruit and grilled peach, woodsmoke, cedar, mineral and flint. No ifs or buts. No need for waffle. This is a beautiful Australian chardonnay. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

De La Terre Pinot Noir 2022
94+ points - Pinot noir to its back teeth, in the best of ways. So complex, so earthen, so strewn with undergrowth and herbs, but simultaneously lively with fruit, or enough so. Glossy oak, sweet-sour cherries and all those complexing elements lead to a sustained, expansive finish. Yes. Excellent. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

Serré Pinot Noir 2022
96 points - This release is a wonder to behold. It’s firm, svelte, powerful and complex, with terrific length and all-round conviction. It’s a wine with X-factor. It tastes of earth and macerated cherries, strawberries and woodsy spice, undergrowth and fresh beet. It captivates you at hello and makes you sorrowful at goodbye. This is Bannockburn at its best, its greatness bell clear. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

Christmas 2023 Newsletter.

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