Bannockburn Vineyards S.R.H. Chardonnay 2025
The Wine
'Planted 1976, clone P58, 12-row section. From our oldest Chardonnay vines at Olive Tree Hill. East–west rows on a north-facing slope. This is consistently our most intense and concentrated Chardonnay. We suspect the presence of marine sediment in the soils contributes to the wine’s electricity and energy. Deep citrus and stone fruit, firm structure and minerality. Built to age.' Gus Pollard, Bannockburn
Organic. S.R.H is one of the finest single-site Chardonnays grown in Australia. It comes from only 12 rows of P58 vines in the Olive Tree Hill vineyard, planted in 1976 by founder Stuart Reginald Hooper. These are the oldest Chardonnay vines at Bannockburn and are firmly entrenched in the ancient marine sediments that form the bedrock in this area. Own-rooted and well-established in the centre of the plot, the vines face north with an east-west orientation. It’s also surely Australia’s oldest high-density Chardonnay vineyard.
|With each passing year, these old vines seem to suck even more minerality from the earth, delivering a spine-tingling wash of salinity to support the intense flavour and texture for which this benchmark Chardonnay is known. The 2025 S.R.H was fermented in French hogsheads (40% new), with malolactic fermentation occurring on approximately 70% of the blend. The wine remained on lees for 10 months, mostly unstirred, prior to blending and bottling.
This is a serious crackerjack year for Bannockburn’s emblematic Chardonnay. Teeming with pent-up energy, it is a tightly coiled and powerful wine, driven by a core of concentrated citrus and stone fruit, shot through with the site’s hallmark saline-mineral edge. S.R.H. represents Australian Chardonnay at its most unrepentant: a pure, deep yet taut, masterful expression of deep-rooted power and measured refinement. That is precisely what you can expect from 2025.
95 Pts Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front ‘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.’
The Details
Variety - Chardonnay
Country - Australia
Region - Victoria
Sub Region - Geelong, Moorabool Valley
Extra - Screwcap
Year - 2025
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Since its establishment by the late Stuart Hooper in 1974, Bannockburn Vineyards has been at the vanguard of the Australian fine wine story, producing vineyard designated wines of the highest quality from the start.
Stuart’s vinous passion was developed in WW2 Europe where he developed a fondness for the wines of Burgundy. Subsequently, on his return to Geelong and retirement, he developed Bannockburn Vineyards from scratch. Gary Farr (By Farr) became their first winemaker (1978 to 2004), and Bannockburn’s success is a large attributed to his visionary efforts.
Lying 25kms northwest of Geelong along the Midland Highway, the estate is located in the Moorabool Valley sub-region, just outside the township of Bannockburn. Here, Bannockburn’s predominantly mature vines are rooted in one of Victoria’s most unique low-fertility terroirs; volcanic surface debris and ancient sea beds running to richer and darker soils, layered over predominantly limestone bedrock.
Under Holmes’ (current Winemaker) direction there’s been a stylistic tilt in the winery, and with his Chardonnay, he’s steering a racier, more mouth-watering course—with less emphasis on lees and oak and more on vibrant acidity and freshness. Yet it is perhaps the style and quality of Bannockburn’s Pinot Noir in which the changes can be most keenly observed. An earlier-bottling regime and more reticent use of whole bunches are resulting in a purity of expression perhaps never seen under this label.
In the vineyards, Holmes works with Lucas Grigsby, Bannockburn’s viticulturist for over 30 years. Grigsby takes great pride in tending to the vineyards with a strong belief in organic farming practices to maintain the health of the soils and Bannockburn’s vines. Between them, the pair’s viticultural principles are based on a healthy respect for the land and responsible farming, e.g., the use of organic composting and straw mulching to eliminate the need for herbicide sprays and the cultivation of inter-row cover crops to add soil nutrients.
These principles flow through into the winery where Holmes employs minimal additions, wild yeast ferments and low intervention winemaking resulting in wines that are made with integrity and that are distinctively Bannockburn.
