Certified organic. Lucas Grigsby is a Bannockburn legend. He has been the viticultural manager for the last 35 years and knows these vineyards like nobody ever has or likely ever will. The wine named in his honour comes from just 0.87-hectres of close-planted vines that were grafted over from Shiraz in 2019. The clone is Bernard 76. Grigsby and Matt Holmes introduced the Bernard clone to Bannockburn to expand the vineyard’s clonal palette, which, in the beginning, was mostly Penfolds clones.

The soils comprise dark cracking clay over weathered basalt and limestone. The block, originally planted in 2007, houses 1.2-metre rows with 1-metre vine spacing on a north-south row orientation. The wine is whole-bunch pressed, settled overnight, and racked to barrels for a wild yeast fermentation in French oak hogsheads; approximately 25% was new oak. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally on 100% of the blend. The wine was left on lees, unstirred, for 10 months prior to blending and bottling.

Of the three single-vineyard 2024s, Grigsby leans into a slinky, more textural style of Chardonnay. The nose is cool and focused: hints of ripe pear, yellow apple skin, and a touch of salted caramel build with grip and generosity. The site was previously called De la Roche, “of the rock”, and this wine delivers up plenty of rocky, compact structure. Then, there’s a lovely chewiness to the extract which is balanced by saline freshness and underscored by reverberating energy. A complex and layered wine that continues to evolve in the glass.

Certified organic. During the winery’s construction in 1981, Bannockburn’s Winery Block was planted to Chardonnay P58, also know as the Old Penfolds Clone. Since that time, the Winery Block has formed the heart and soul of Bannockburn’s Estate Chardonnay. The consistent, textural core of citrus, orchard fruit and struck match you find in the Estate Chardonnay—that’s the Winery Block. The soils range from dark brown clay to sandier topsoil, over weathered basalt and limestone. While the vineyard typically ripens early, picking is spaced over many days to reflect varying degrees of ripeness across the 5.3-acre block.

This single-vineyard selection is a limited-release barrel selection based of the conditions of each season; the kind of wine a French producer might call a Tête de Cuvée. The inaugural vintage mostly comes from the early ripening sites in this warmer year. Compared to the Grigsby, the only difference in the winemaking was a touch more new oak in the blend: 40% in this instance.

This is Bannockburn in a glass, offering layers of pulpy texture and purity alongside loads of stone fruit, matchstick, and hay-like complexity that stretch out like satin on the palate. This is a harmonious, caressing expression of Bannockburn Chardonnay and one that speaks with the clarity of place. It closes with a bright streak of chalky acidity cutting through on the long, focussed finish.

Organic. S.R.H is one of the finest single-site Chardonnays grown in Australia. Just 12 rows of P58 vines in the Olive Tree Hill vineyard go into S.R.H. Planted in 1976 by founder Stuart Reginald Hooper, these are the oldest Chardonnay vines at Bannockburn and are firmly entrenched in the ancient marine sediments that form the bedrock in this area. Own-rooted and well-established in the centre of the plot, the vines face north with an east-west orientation.

With each passing year, these old vines seem to suck even more minerality from the earth, delivering a spine-tingling wash of salinity to support the intense flavour and texture for which this benchmark Chardonnay is known. This year, the S.R.H was fermented in French hogsheads (40% new), and the wine remained on lees for 10 months with no stirring and full malo.

This is another crackerjack year for Bannockburn’s emblematic Chardonnay. Teeming with pent-up energy, it is a tightly-coiled and powerful wine, driven by a core of concentrated citrus and stone fruit woven with the site’s hallmark saline mineral edge. You can tell the ’24 is built for the long haul, but it is already showing its pedigree.  S.R.H. represents Australian Chardonnay at its most unrepentant: a pure, taut, linear and a masterful expression of deep-rooted power and measured refinement. That is precisely what you can expect from the 2024.

Certified organic. De La Terre is a beautiful, sloping vineyard that was planted in 2007 to 10,000 vines per hectare. Still quite rare in an Australian setting, the planting density results in very low natural yields of Burgundy Grand Cru levels. De La Terre lies beside the Serré vineyard, although it sits on the slope, whereas Serré is on a small plateau directly above. Despite this proximity, the wines are startlingly different. Along with the slope, the clonal selection (777), and north-south row orientation (rather than the east-west of Serré) contribute to the difference in personality.

Penned in 2012, James Halliday’s “reminiscent of a young DRC,” remark remains a ringing endorsement for this close-planted site. The 2024 serves as a powerful reminder of the heights this site can scale. Where the 2022 fermented with 100% whole bunches, the new release was complexly destemmed and fermented wild on skins for 10 days before pressing into French oak hogshead barrels, 25% of which were new.

The DNA of this site is becoming ever more prominent. De La Terre is lighter and finer in structure than Serré: a wine of delicious earthy allusions which manifest this year in ripe red fruit swaddled in ferrous- and herb-like complexity. The new release is perfumed and intense, yet superbly sculpted and layered with wonderful, cherry-cola fruit, loads of spice and fine, gravelly tannins. A detailed and savoury Pinot Noir that always sits on the edgier side of Bannockburn’s stylistic spectrum.

Organic. Stuart Hooper planted Olive Tree Hill in 1976, making this block the oldest vineyard on the Bannockburn property. Alongside the Chardonnay vines, which produce the S.R.H Chardonnay, Hooper laid down a block of own-rooted MV6 Pinot, which are now approaching their 50th vintage. Bannockburn tells us that these old vines are consistently that last to ripen, producing small, concentrated berries which, in turn, yields their darkest and most structured Pinot Noir.

Across all three single-vineyard Pinots Matt Holme’s winemaking remains the same, give or take a new barrel or two. So, what you taste are the true colours of each parcel. Here, the wine is steeped in old-vine concentration with flavours oscillating between red fruit and black, with earthy spice and mulchy, forest floor complexity. There’s an assured calmness to the palate, which combines both powerful, spice-charged perfume and regal structure. It’s not hard to see why Bannockburn are now bottling these old vines sui generis: the wine has character to burn.

Certified organic. Serré is Bannockburn’s most iconic and memorable Pinot Noir; their supernova. Serré’s 1.2 hectares of densely-planted (9,000 per hectare), low-yielding, own-rooted vines were planted exclusively to the MV6 clone in 1984 and 1986. It is likely Australia’s oldest plot of densely-planted Pinot Noir—which explains the striking complexity and intense concentration found in this wine. The naturally low-yielding vines lie in the Estate’s signature volcanic, basalt and limestone-rich soils with a north-south orientation. It’s a special site that producer the Estate’s most powerful, deeply flavoured and long-lived Pinot Noir.

As is usually the case for a Matt Holmes Serré, the fruit was entirely destemmed before fermenting on skins for 10 days. The wine was pressed to French oak hogsheads (40% new) and then left to mature on lees until February 2025. Marked by characteristic dark fruits, alluring savoury spice, and herbal complexity, it’s a multi-layered and intense release-tightly packed with Serre attitude, and equally articulate. That’s the beauty of Serré: a wine full of contrast. Shaped by the depth and succulence of this vintage, the ’24 clings to the palate like Velcro. Clearly built for a beautiful life in the cellar, this release will surely go down as one finest in Serre’s eventful thirty-year history. A remarkable Geelong Pinot of presence and power.

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. This year’s 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.

This first-rate release brings together Bannockburn’s entire spectrum of Pinot vineyards. The 2024 includes fruit from Olive Tree Hill, planted in 1976, 10 Rows (1991), Stuart Block (1997), Anns Block (2004). The cream on top? The close-planted De La Terre block planted in 2007. All the sites lie in volcanic loam and dark clay over a limestone base and are planted to various clones, mainly MV6 with a smattering of the Dijon (or Bernard) clones. Fruit from each block fermented separately, with approximately 20% bunches included and a small portion undergoing carbonic maceration. The wine was pressed to hogsheads and puncheons (25% new) for 10 months’ maturation.

It's a Pinot that soars from the glass, perfumed and layered with flowers, spice, earth, wispy reduction and brambly berry fruits. Dive in! There’s an abundance of charm and character, with a bright, tight core of flavour framed by fine tannins and invigorating acidity. If this were Bannockburn’s top Pinot, that would be enough! Like the Chardonnay, it is a profound Bannockburn that will love the cellar. But who are we kidding? Show it plenty of air and serve with roast duck.

Fruit for this year’s Bannockburn Shiraz is drawn predominately from vines in the south-facing Winery Block (planted in 1990) and Range Block (1974), with some declassified De La Roche (planted in 2007) in the mix. The sites possess soils of mainly volcanic scoria over basalt, clay and loam with a limestone-clay base.

Conditions in 2022 were ideal, with sufficient rain in spring followed by a warm, consistent and well-paced ripening period. The Shiraz fermented spontaneously with 10% bunches and plenty of carbonic maceration. The wine spent two weeks on skins before being pressed, settled and racked to a combination of French oak hogsheads and puncheons (10% new) for a 10-month maturation. Matt Holmes has pared back the new oak and gradually introduced more carbonic influence in his Shiraz. He feels the mature Winery Block has inherent savoury qualities (due to the clay/limestone, old vines and poor soils), and this treatment lifts the impression of brightness and fruit purity.

Bannockburn produces one of the most distinctive expressions of Shiraz in Australia, which can be attributed almost entirely to the site. The 2022 is delightfully mid-weight, with enticing savoury depth, bright berry fruit, root spice and deep graphite-mineral tones. The weight is deft and silky, anchored by sinewy structure and star-bright acidity. It’s another winner.

Bannockburn’s Riesling is really hitting its stride. Riesling was one of the first varieties to be planted in Bannockburn’s original Olive Tree Hill vineyard in 1976. Today, most of the fruit still comes from this one acre of original, own-rooted, now quite low-yielding block that sits at the top of the north-facing slope on the property. A small portion (0.6 acres) of 2015 plantings is also in the mix. We don’t need to tell you about Riesling’s knack for expressing place, and Bannockburn’s deep-rooted old vines do a stellar job of soaking up every ounce of expression from these ancient limestone rocks.

The fruit was picked in excellent condition―when flavours were ripe and natural acidity still high―and pressed as bunches to steel tank for fermentation. The wine then matured on lees for three months before being bottled. As with the last couple of vintages, there were no additions other than a touch of sulphur. It's a wonderfully fragrant release, with citrus and white florals leading to fresh, crisp flavours and a mouthwatering chalky finish.