Appellation Australia

Bannockburn is an iconic winery, based in Geelong, Victoria. This was an opportune time to stop and look at Bannockburns past vintages with the ex-winemaker Gary Farr moving on to his own ventures after more than 20 years at Bannockburn and new winemaker Michael Glover coming on board for the 2005 vintage.

The tasting offered 10 wines in each category, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. The standard label wines are priced at around $45 AUD each. Bannockburn also produce four single vineyard wines, the SRH Chardonnay ($110), the Stuart ($75) and Serre ($120) Pinot Noir and the Range Shiraz ($55).

All tasted wines were stored since release at Bannockburn Winery.

Chardonnay

2002 – Better body than the ’01 – fuller, richer, creamier and more intense but retains balance. Well integrated oak treatment. Good structure and should get better with additional bottle age complexity. 89/100

2001 – Drinking nicely enough now, but lacking power, complexity or anything to really get excited about at the moment. More young fresh fruit characters than the ’02 – quite tight apart from that. Best to leave a few years before trying. 87/100

1997 – Looking a little bit developed in colour, especially compared to the 1995. Slightly oxidative on the nose with straw/hay characters and a heap of butterscotch. Acid is sticking out a bit on the finish which spoils an otherwise full flavoured and powerful palate. 87/100

1995 – Straw yellow in colour – very youthful looking at ten years of age. Toasty, nutty, slightly minerally nose. Lovely texture to the palate. A pleasure to drink. Not in any danger of falling over. 89/100

1994 – Two bottles of this poured at our table. First bottle was not great, with a fair bit of heat on the palate throwing things off. Second bottle was a big improvement, colour was better and the heat was gone. Excellent intensity, full flavour but perhaps trailing off on the finish. Second bottle was at its peak and drinking well indeed. 88/100

1990 – Quite developed on the nose – honey, citrus, butterscotch, onion and a bit of sweet apple juice. Palate is similar. Quickly went downhill after being poured. 85/100

1986 – Amazing colour for a 19 year old Chardonnay. Unfortunately the nose and palate didn’t live up to the visuals – some VA, slightly oxidised on the nose – quite disjointed on the palate. Drinkable, but sadly well past its days of being good. 82/100

2001 SRH – Showing young and primary – but showing good intensity, especially in comparison with the standard ’01. Tight nose with barrel input evident as well as some butter and melon. A touch of heat on the front palate disrupts the line. Length is good. Give it time. 90/100

2000 SRH – Funky, cheesy, butter and butterscotch on the nose. Good depth, balance and concentration on the palate. Very good length – clean finish. 90/100

1999 SRH – Excellent. Toasted cashew nuts, spices, lemon, lime and pear on the nose. The palate is where the wine moves up a class – textured, complex, concentrated without being over the top, outstanding length and the acid and structure to age wonderfully. Close to the best Chardonnay I have tasted. 93/100

Pinot Noir

1990 – Browned edges. Nose is a little bit dirty and I found a predominant burnt toast character. Palate was a little sharp but was otherwise showing good complexity. Drying out a little on the finish. Holding on, but past its peak. 85/100

1995 – Nose of violets, with prominent stalks and undergrowth/forest floor characters. Good length but perhaps starting to lose structure and balance on the palate. 87/100

1997 – Great nose! Roses, plums, stalk, earth, cherries and some background oak. Very nicely textured mouth-feel. Good complexity on the palate – excellent long finish. Drinking close to its peak. Very good. 91/100

2000 – Violets dominate a perfumed floral nose as well as earth, plums and restrained stalks. Palate is fairly full, powerful yet classy and balanced. Will get better given time to develop complexity. 91/100

2003 – Rather primary, floral, shy closed nose. Lacking vibrancy, flat and short on the mid-palate and finish. Lacking any depth at this stage, which may be fixed with age but the length is a concern. 86/100

2001 Stuart – Sappy, stalky, plums, mushrooms and gamey elements form the powerful nose. Youthful palate – acid and tannins are quite prominent right now but will integrate with time. The finish has good length. 90/100

2003 Stuart – Very tight nose – a bit of sour cherry and earth. Palate is also primary but the structure and length are good – all it needs is time to develop. 89/100

1998 Serre – Closed for business. Tight nose gives not much of anything away – some cherry, some pepper and mixed spices. Velvet smooth, elegant palate. A classy wine, but as with a lot of the Pinot tonight, needs to be given more time. 88/100

2001 Serre – A step up from the Stuart of the same vintage. Plenty of earth, mushroom, cloves, stalks and a bit of funky gamey-ness adding interest. Balance and length are exceptional. Superb to drink and is going to get even better. 93/100

2003 Serre – Vibrant, fresh nose – floral, plums, cherries and earthy characters. Quite concentrated on the palate. Has the structure and balance to be great. 91/100

Shiraz

1988 – Quite youthful looking but nose and palate are dried out. This bottle well past its peak. 79/100

1991 – Holding up better than the ’88 but fighting a losing battle to do so. Pencil shavings and a bit of funkiness about the nose. Palate has complexity but lacks vibrancy and is starting to dry out. 85/100

1994 – Vegetal, under-ripe, weedy, off-putting nose. The fully mature soft palate is better than the nose but it can’t make up the lost ground. 82/100

1995 – The pick of this flight (88,91,94,95,96). A bit of pepper, floral notes, stalks as well as some oak. The palate is good, although perhaps a bit on the thin side of elegant. Lingering finish. Has hit its peak and is drinking well. 88/100

1996 – Prominent white and black pepper as well as earth, herbs and spices on the nose. Again, currently drinking at its peak with integrated tannins and oak and the structure to hold this peak for a few years to come. 87/100

1997 – Stalky, green vegetal notes, pepper and some menthol characters. Tannins are quite prominent and perhaps need some additional time to settle, I’m not sure that time can heal the nose. 86/100

2000 – Violets, pepper and a touch of earthy funk to make things interesting. Palate is concentrated and rich but still has balance. 89/100

2001 – Nice nose of black pepper, spices and a delicate floral lift. Elegant, with excellent length and the structure to age. I think this wine is going good places given time. 90/100

2003 – Smoky, meaty and almost a butterscotch like character to the nose. The stylish palate shows good textured mouth-feel and is silky smooth through to the finish. Let down by the nose. 87/100

1996 Range – Some green under-ripe characters as well as sappy, stalky notes. Good texture and elegance, but thins out somewhat as it approaches the finish. 86/100

Summary:

The Chardonnay were very good as a whole. I really enjoyed the SRH on offer – but 110 odd dollars per bottle is stretching the friendship.

The Pinot as a whole were looking fantastic and the Serre and some of the standard vintages really are up there in the top echelon of what Australia has to offer in Pinot.

The older Shiraz were concerning in variable quality but the more recent vintages were looking much better. I would have liked to try the ’98 to see how the non-estate fruit changed the style after hailstorms damaged the estate vineyards.

I think the standard label wines are priced fairly, and if you pick the right vintages can over deliver at the price point. However, the premium label wines are probably over priced compared to the competition, no doubt excellent wines, but when you have other exceptional Australian chardonnay like Leeuwin, Mount Mary, Savaterre and so on at half the price – and you are getting into very smart Burgundy territory at the price of the pinot …

My favourites:

Chardonnay: 1995
SRH Chardonnay: 1999
Pinot Noir: 1997
Stuart Pinot: 2001
Serre Pinot Noir: 2001
Shiraz: 2001

The future:

Along with the change in winemaker, Bannockburn plan to allow visitors to the winery by appointment, something that wasn’t possible in the past.

This is a critical time for Bannockburn, with the loss of not only their winemaker, but the face of the company – when people think Bannockburn they think Gary Farr. I think the main challenge for Bannockburn is for Michael Glover to get the chance to place his own style with the wines over the coming years while keeping the loyalty of existing customers.

You can find out some more about Bannockburn and their history at their Website.

Thanks to Michael Glover, Bannockburn and Divine Magazine for putting on an excellent tasting.