2022 Bannockburn Grigsby Chardonnay

Highly Rated
Poise and focus galore in this exquisite organic Chardonnay from Geelong's iconic Bannockburn estate.

Price:
Sale price$69.00
Stock:
Sold out
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

Bannockburn is a little slice of Burgundy in coastal Victoria, producing world-class Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs alongside a few other varietals.

This 'Grigsby' Chardonnay (named after Lucas Grigsby who has been managing the estate vineyards for more than three decades) is a single-block organic Chardonnay, estate-grown release.

There is concentration and elegance together here: some power and plushness, plus a fine finish and tight acidity. Hand-picked grapes, fermented in oak before maturing in wood as well (all old oak).

One for keeping, but tasty at the moment as well.


96 points
"A very complex chardonnay, full and rich and generous in the mouth with a long-lasting aftertaste. A ripping chardonnay."
- Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

95 points
"This is rich. If chardonnay flavour is your desire, then come hither... Importantly it runs fresh and lengthy to close, with hints of reductive character there too, which is a bonus."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)
95 points
"This is a gorgeous wine of spellbinding complexity in waiting, just palpable already, but held in an embryonic state of tension. This will age exceptionally well."
- Ned Goodwin MW (JamesSuckling.com)

96 points - "Light-medium yellow colour with a rich and toasty/oaky bouquet that enshrines nougat, roasted hazelnuts and creamy lees derived facets. A very complex chardonnay, full and rich and generous in the mouth with a long-lasting aftertaste. A ripping chardonnay." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

95 points - "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 (The Wine Front)

95 points - "A high density planting, certified organic. Palate-staining intensity of flavor. Riveting scents of nuts and nectarines, with crystalline acidity to mineral pungency, glittering across the tightly furled palate like glycerine diamonds. This is a gorgeous wine of spellbinding complexity in waiting, just palpable already, but held in an embryonic state of tension. This will age exceptionally well. Drink or hold, but better after 2026. Screw cap." - Ned Goodwin MW (JamesSuckling.com)

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 Grigsby is a single-vineyard, organic-certified wine, sourced from close-planted vines that were grafted over from Shiraz in 2018. The clone is Bernard 76, and the block is planted to 1.2-metre rows with 1-metre vine spacing, on a north-south row orientation.

The soils comprise dark cracking clay over weathered basalt and limestone. Grigsby and Holmes introduced the Bernard clone to Bannockburn to expand the vineyard’s clonal palette, which, in the beginning, was mostly Penfolds clones. Holmes does not dwell on the contrast, but he does notice a certain chalky tension in the Grigsby Chardonnay compared to the more voluminous fruit of the S.R.H.

The fruit was pressed as whole bunches and settled overnight before being racked to hogsheads (25% new) for fermentation and malolactic conversion (70%). The wine matured for 10 months on lees with no stirring. The 2022 is a wine of great presence, energy and drive. Huon and Ned call it well.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Geelong
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Organic
Reviewed By The Real Review
James Suckling
Critic Score 96
95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2022
Closure Screw Cap

Bannockburn

For decades, the Bannockburn vineyard has been producing Burgundian-inspired wines which truly reflect a unique patch of Australian terroir.

Originally planted by founder Stuart Hooper and the great Gary Farr in the early 1970s, the wines that come from this special vineyard in Geelong show a rare sense of place. The ancient riverbed soils that sit below the vines impart a distinct saline character for the whites and an awesome power in the reds which makes the wines from this place immediately identifiable.

Matt Holmes is the current winemaker, having taken over from Michael Glover after years as assistant winemaker. His wines have been receiving great critical acclaim during his tenure and this great Australian vineyard's legacy seems very safe in his capable hands.

Winemaker Matt Holmes - Geelong, VIC Bannockburn

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Shipping

Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you. 

Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.

Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.

Ordering

We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.

Some things to keep in mind: 

  • Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
  • The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
  • We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
  • We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
  • It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.  
  • It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.

We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.

At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Call Us

Send a message