In case you haven’t heard, this team makes a magic Bannockburn Beaujolais. 2024 marks the third release of this wine, but the first year with sufficient yields to offer to a wider audience. Matt Holmes and his team considered a wide variety of choices before Gamay six years ago became the first new variety introduced on the property since 1980. They chose well.
The 1.4-acre plot lies below the Olive Tree Hill Pinot Noir vines and down the slope from S.R.H. on limestone with clay subsoils. It’s a site with perfect conditions for this variety: a lot of warmth and intense afternoon sun in warmer seasons. The fruit was picked by hand and fermented spontaneously using whole-bunch carbonic maceration. After about eight days, the stems were removed and the grapes pressed to a single-use barrique to finish fermentation. The wine rested in barrel for 10 months before bottling.
Matt Holmes made a point of working in Beaujolais before releasing this wine. The result is a delightful combination of mouthwatering, juicy vibrance and creamy intent. Densely packed, it shows a mélange of blue fruit, pink peppercorn spice and a floral, herbal lift draped over Bannockburn’s savoury terroir character. Production is tiny, and this is Bannockburn, so don’t hesitate if you want a piece of the action.