The 2024 wines mark a golden milestone in Bannockburn’s history. Stuart Hooper, a Geelong businessman, demonstrated impressive vision 50 years prior when he established a vineyard in the Moorabool Valley. Today, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are synonymous with Geelong—no little thanks to Hooper’s pivotal work. This was certainly not the case back in the mid-’70s, when the few vineyards that existed in the valley were considered prime country for Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Hooper was a lover of fine wine, particularly Burgundy, and this passion seeped through the early-years Bannockburn project. Perhaps the most famous manifestation of Hooper’s admiration came in the early 1980s when, with Gary Farr, Bannockburn began to realise the now iconic, close-planted Serré vineyard. With its low trellis and narrow rows replicating the tough vineyard conditions and low-yield-per-vine approach of Grand Cru Burgundy, Serré was considered a folly at the time. Yet Hooper was never motivated by trying to mimic the style of any particular wine. Instead, he was more interested in the practice behind the great wines he was drinking. “Stuart sought to emulate not the wines, but their pursuit of excellence,” Hooper’s grandson and third-generation wine-grower Gus Pollard explains. “He wanted to make wine that really spoke of our place, guided by the underlying goal of greatness.” Vine-loving limestone soils and the valley’s cool climate certainly helped in this regard, and there’s no escaping the fact that Bannockburn Vineyards, a half-century later, stands atop Hooper’s giant shoulders as one of Australia’s iconic estates. “It’s a very proud moment,” Gus tells us. “It fills our family with pride.” As it should for an extended family of farmer-winemakers that has played a pivotal role in shaping its region’s reputation for world-class wines. Bannockburn’s golden jubilee vintage has turned out a predictably exciting roster of wines. The warmer season delivered plenty of concentration and extract, masterfully balanced by this powerful vineyard’s signature savouriness and chalky acidity. And with it, Matt Holmes has delivered a set of don’t-miss wines of complexity and coiled-spring tension and power. Alongside the classics, this is the first year Bannockburn has grown enough fruit to release its (brilliant) Gamay to a wider audience. This is a grower that knows a thing or two about whole-bunch winemaking; even so, with a bit of help, Gamay has taken to the Bannockburn terroir like a duck to water.