2020 Bannockburn Chardonnay
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Employs wild fermentation in French oak hogsheads (20% new) followed by partial mlf. Has the groundwork well in place for a long life ahead, with a solid fruit base of citrus, stone fruits, baked biscuit and just a lick of oak spice. Already revealing good balance and a seamless acidity.
Jeni Port - Halliday's Wine Companion
The Brief
Alcohol
13.0%
Net Volume
750ml
Vintage
2020
How's it taste?
The Bannockburn Chardonnay is drawn chiefly from the Estate's Olive Tree Hill Vineyard (planted in 1976) and Winery Block (1981), which are both on volcanic soils over limestone, with an average vine age of around 35 years. Whole-bunch pressed and settled overnight, the juice was then wild-fermented in mainly 500-litre French oak hogsheads (20% new), with 70% undergoing malolactic. The wine spent 10 months on lees with no stirring, and no sulphur was added until bottling. Combining both power and finesse, you'll find aromas of orchard pear and fig fruit, licked with citrus, ripe white peaches and some roasted cashew complexity. In classic Bannockburn mould, the flow is seamless. It's both mouth-filling and lithe; a release bursting with flavour and an equally engaging measure of savoury restraint.
How was it made?
This wine has consistently been rated as one of Australia’s best Chardonnays, reflecting the ideal combination of soils, climate and mature vines.
The Who
Critic Reviews
95 Points
Jeni Port - Halliday's Wine Companion
Employs wild fermentation in French oak hogsheads (20% new) followed by partial mlf. Has the groundwork well in place for a long life ahead, with a solid fruit base of citrus, stone fruits, baked biscuit and just a lick of oak spice. Already revealing good balance and a seamless acidity.
93 Points
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front
From winemaker Matt Holmes: “Olive Tree Hill vines planted in 1976 and Winery Block (1981), clone likely to be P58. Budburst was in line with long term averages (September) but fruitset was affected by cold and wet conditions during flowering. The 2020 season was one of the coolest on record with a total of 1299 Growing degree days (compared to an average of nearly 1400GDD).”Straw-coloured but then fresh and pear-like on the palate. Interesting wine, quite distinctive, with flashes of quartz and sweet cedar matched to gun smoke and lemon curd. It has both length and intensity on its side, along with complexity, but perhaps not harmony. It’s not close to ready; it needs time.
87 Points
Huon Hooke - The Real Review
Light to mid-yellow colour, with a mix of herbal and crushed oyster-shell or shell-grit aromas. There's a strange pungency that reminds of superphosphate. The taste is quite intense and straightforward, oak not too overt, the finish cleansingly dry and refreshing. There's good intensity but it's probably not for everyone; the bouquet is confronting.
Customer Reviews
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