Bannockburn Chardonnay 2022

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.

It’s an exceptional release that strikes a mouth-watering balance between fruit weight, tensile acidity and supple texture. Stone fruit flavours are complemented by richer characters and balanced by crystalline freshness, tangy grip and a lengthy, complex finish. Such a detailed and refined release.

 

94 points – Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront

 

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