2025 Bannockburn Pinot Noir

97 pts
One of the benchmark Pinot Noirs of the Geelong region, and one of Australia's most distinctive styles.

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Sale price$75.00
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Description

Bannockburn has a unique way of doing Pinot Noir that completely ignores standard, sweet-fruited Australian tropes.  That said, there was a lovely purity and drinkability in the 2025 vintage that isn't always present in this wine - it's a deliciously friendly release.

This draws on mature estate blocks planted as far back as 1976, and the Bannockburn style is unmistakable. Winemaker Matt Holmes kept the whole-bunch influence to a well-judged 20%, letting the natural concentration of the fruit do the heavy lifting.  

As always, the wine opens with an incredibly intriguing, unsweet aromatic profile of earth and smoke, but there are some lovely subtle berry aromas at play in 2025 too. The palate is supple but beautifully sinewy, carrying its dark fruit core through a fine, grapey web of tannin and a persistent line of tension. 

We've always loved the serious, unique nature of this label, but the 2025 provides a level of immediate appeal that we haven't seen in some time.  Lovely now but will cellar brilliantly for a decade or more.  

97 points
"A lovely Bannockburn pinot noir. Opens with perfumed aromas of red cherry, wild strawberry, rose bush and subtle cardamom and nutmeg spice. Medium bodied on the palate, with an excellent core of fruit, yet it's equally light on its feet. The tannins are sinewy and in perfect harmony with the fruit. Very long."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points
"We get beautiful, fine-meshed, grapey tannin here, and sinewy characters, and a genuine, savoury push of flavour through the finish. I’m as certain as I can be that this wine will mature well."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

97 points - "From vines planted between 1976 and 2007; 20% whole bunches, 25% new oak. A lovely Bannockburn pinot noir. Opens with perfumed aromas of red cherry, wild strawberry, rose bush and subtle cardamom and nutmeg spice. Medium bodied on the palate, with an excellent core of fruit, yet it's equally light on its feet. The tannins are sinewy and in perfect harmony with the fruit. Very long. Delicious now and will be even better in six to 10 years." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points - "The first word that came to mind was unsweet. I’m not even sure that’s a word. This is a particularly earthen Pinot Noir with root vegetable characters running through black cherry, chicory, woodsmoke and fistfuls of roasted spices. I’m tempted to call this Pinot Noir for grown-ups but that’s a silly phrase so I’ll refrain. We get beautiful, fine-meshed, grapey tannin here, and sinewy characters, and a genuine, savoury push of flavour through the finish. I’m as certain as I can be that this wine will mature well." - Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

Consistently rated as one of Australia’s best Pinot Noir wines; our estate Pinot Noir is always distinctive, complex, and characterful. Old vineyards, limestone soils and low yielding vines offer pure fruit, autumnal aromas, and savoury spice driven characters.

Bannockburn Pinot Noir is made from a blend of estate fruit grown on our established vineyards; the oldest vines planted in 1976 through to the more recent 2007 planting. This release includes fruit grown across Olive Tree Hill (1976), 10 Rows (1991), Stuart Block (1997), Anns Block (2004) & De La Terre (2007) vineyards. The clonal mix includes MV6, 114, 115 and 777, with various vine spacings and planting densities.

Handpicked parcels of fruit were wild fermented separately with approximately 20% whole bunch overall including a portion of carbonic maceration. After pressing the wine was racked to a combination of hogsheads and puncheons of which 25% was new oak. The wine was left undisturbed for 10 months prior to blending and bottling.

Bright cherry and wild berry fruit sit at the core, framed by subtle notes of cracked spice, dried herbs and a gentle forest-floor savouriness. Rose petal, cedar and a finely judged touch of oak add detail without overt influence. The palate is supple and finely structured, carrying ripe but controlled fruit through a line of bright acidity and fine tannin. Hints of spice and earthy nuance linger through the mid-palate, giving shape and tension to the wine’s elegant profile. Concentrated yet composed, it finishes long, savoury and finely etched.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Pinot Noir
Country Australia
Region Geelong
Australian State VIC
Feature Iconic
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 97
Alcohol 13.5%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure Screw Cap

Bannockburn

For over 50 years, Bannockburn has been a quiet force in Australian fine wine. The story began in 1974 when Stuart Hooper discovered and planted this now-iconic site in Victoria’s Moorabool Valley. In 1978, Gary Farr joined as winemaker, bringing a Burgundian lens that helped define the estate’s identity.

Today, Matt Holmes leads the winemaking, first stepping in for the 2005 vintage and returning permanently in 2015 after Michael Glover’s departure. Holmes’ style is thoughtful and site-first - guided by organics, minimal intervention, and an intuitive feel for balance. His Chardonnays are chiseled and composed. The Pinot Noirs - more precise than ever - are some of Victoria's best.

Viticulturist Lucas Grigsby, a 30-year veteran, tends the vines with the same hands-on, regenerative mindset. Together, they farm sustainably - straw mulching, composting, and nurturing cover crops - all to express the site with absolute clarity.

Bannockburn’s single-vineyard range tells the deeper story. S.R.H. Chardonnay draws tension and salinity from ancient marine sediments. The iconic Serré vineyard, planted densely in 1984, channels a Grand Cru sensibility. These are wines shaped by place, not ego. They hum with Burgundian influence, but speak fluently in an Australian accent.

Winemaker Matt Holmes - Geelong, VIC Bannockburn

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