2025 Bannockburn S.R.H. Chardonnay

95 ptsLimited Stock!
Bannockburn’s flagship Chardonnay, drawn from twelve rows of its oldest vines, with depth and longevity.

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Sale price$109.00
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Description

Twelve rows of Chardonnay planted in 1976 are the source of Bannockburn’s flagship white. Named for founder Stuart Reginald Hooper, S.R.H. comes from the estate’s oldest Chardonnay vines.

Those rows sit midway up a north-facing slope at Olive Tree Hill, with roots reaching an ancient seabed beneath clay and limestone. It’s a small, distinct section of the vineyard that consistently produces Bannockburn’s most complex Chardonnay.

The 2025 was hand picked, whole-bunch pressed and wild fermented in French oak, around 40% new. Partial malolactic fermentation and ten months on lees, mostly without stirring, have built texture around the concentrated fruit.

Peach, pear and preserved citrus come with cashew, pastry and a savoury, stony edge. There’s plenty of flavour and weight, but fresh acidity keeps it flowing through a particularly long finish.

Give it time to open in the glass if you’re drinking it now, and put a few bottles away if you can. Stunning Chardonnay and extremely limited.

95 points
"This is fluid flavour delivered at its most fancy. It’s plainly excellent."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

95 points - "The freshness and the length. The flavour too, of course. This is just plain yum, to be frank. It tastes of pears and peaches, steel and citrus, with cashew, tonic water and cedar notes delivered hand-in glove, and they are light gloves at that. This is fluid flavour delivered at its most fancy. It’s plainly excellent." Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

SRH is from a distinctive 12-row selection of our oldest Chardonnay vines at Olive Tree Hill vineyard, planted in 1976. Named for Bannockburn founder and regional pioneer Stuart Reginald Hooper, this 50-year-old vineyard is responsible for our finest and most complex Chardonnay wines.

Viticulture
SRH Chardonnay is made from a distinctive 12-row, 2.46-acre vineyard block at the Olive Tree Hill vineyard. Planted in 1976 to clone P58, these rows are unique from the rest of the vineyard, in part due to their direct contact with an ancient seabed in the soil profile. The 12 rows sit in the middle of a north-facing slope, and the rows run east-west. These are our oldest Chardonnay vines and are profoundly influenced by the complex soils of clay, limestone and marine sediment.

Winemaking
Handpicked parcels of fruit were whole bunch pressed, settled overnight, and racked to barrels for a wild yeast fermentation in French oak hogsheads and puncheons; approximately 40% was new oak. Malolactic fermentation occurred on approximately 70% of the blend. The wine was left on lees, mostly unstirred, for 10 months prior to blending and bottling.

Tasting Note
Aromas of stony minerals, pie crust, dried hay, preserved citrus and crème caramel, with a subtle savoury note reminiscent of herbed stock. The palate is powerful yet precise, layered and complex, a core of concentrated citrus and stone fruit tingling with electric-like energy, all driven by fresh acidity. From our oldest Chardonnay vines, the wine carries a distinct minerality shaped by the site's ancient seabed, clay and limestone, with a long, lingering finish and its deep sense of place. Tightly coiled in its youth, this is a compelling Chardonnay with outstanding cellaring potential.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Geelong
Australian State VIC
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Critic Score 95
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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