The 2025 Bannockburn Chardonnay is another outstanding release from one of Geelong’s benchmark Chardonnay producers, sourced entirely from Bannockburn’s estate vineyards in the Moorabool Valley. The blend brings together fruit from Olive Tree Hill, Winery Block, Stuart Block, Grigsby and Kelly Lane, with vines ranging from the estate’s historic 1976 plantings through to 2016. This diversity of vine age, together with Bannockburn’s limestone-influenced soils and the P58 and Bernard 76, 95 and 96 clones, gives the wine both concentration and complexity. The 2025 season was particularly notable as Bannockburn’s earliest harvest on record, following a warm and dry growing season that produced generous fruit while retaining excellent freshness.
The fruit was hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed before undergoing wild yeast fermentation in French oak hogsheads and puncheons, with approximately 25% new oak. Around 70% underwent malolactic fermentation, followed by 10 months on lees without stirring. The result is a beautifully layered Chardonnay showing white peach, nectarine, grapefruit and ripe pear alongside cedar, dried hay, nougat, cashew and subtle oatmeal characters. There is richness and gentle creaminess through the mid-palate, but fine acidity and a distinctive saline-mineral edge keep everything precise and energetic. Campbell Mattinson at The Wine Front awarded the 2025 an exceptional 96 Points, praising its intensity, freshness and particularly long finish.
