Bannockburn Riesling 2023

Riesling is one of the original varieties planted at the the Olive Tree Hill vineyard in 1976. This beauty of this variety on our site is the way it expresses the complexity of of our limestone rich soils.

Minimum Order 6 Units (straight or mixed)

Viticulture
Winemaking
Tasting Notes & Reviews

Bannockburn Riesling is made from two blocks planted in 1976 and 2015. Fruit was picked late March in excellent condition with slightly lower than average yields.

The fruit was whole bunch pressed, settled, and racked to tank. The wine went through a temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel and was rested on lees prior to bottling in July.

94 points. I love the perfume of this, the cuts of apple, the lingers of bath salts and brine, the sustained exuberance. There’s joy in this wine but there’s also structure and length. Bannockburn riesling is under appreciated in my view. You can drink this for the pure pleasure of it but it holds up to scrutiny too. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.

Print Spec Sheet

$32 Single
$180 1/2 Dozen
$340 Dozen

Estate

Bannockburn Sauvignon Blanc 2019

$32

Bannockburn Chardonnay 2022

$70

Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2022

$70

Bannockburn Shiraz 2021

$45

Bannockburn Gamay 2022

$45 Sold out

2023 Vintage

The 2023 growing season started off cold and wet. For the first time since 2011 our dam was full, and in fact overflowed for most of October and November (rainfall for the calendar year of 2022 was 800mm). Budburst was slightly behind average timing, but crops were down significantly: the bunch counts were low in the first place, we had a mild frost in September and the wet weather finally caught up with us via downy mildew. The rain stopped at the end of December.

The overall heat accumulation was the same (1338 Growing Degree Days) as 2021, both seasons on the slightly cooler side of average but differing in that the heat for 2023 was more toward the second half of the season. Veraison occurred in February and then we picked Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling in March, and Shiraz and Cabernet/Merlot in the first week of April. The picking weather was pleasant and the fruit arrived at the winery in very good condition.

While quantity was down (especially in Pinot Noir) quality was good: fresh acidity, concentration, colour, tannin and steady fermentations have us looking forward to bottling, and seemingly warmer and drier seasons as El Niño returns.

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