Region: Geelong
Sub Region: Moorabool Valley
Variety: Chardonnay
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2025
The Wine
SRH is drawn from just 12 rows of Bannockburn’s oldest Chardonnay vines, planted in 1976 on the north-facing Olive Tree Hill vineyard. Named in honour of founder Stuart Reginald Hooper, this tiny 2.46-acre parcel is planted to the P58 clone, with roots reaching through clay and limestone towards ancient marine sediment.
The fruit was handpicked and whole-bunch pressed before wild fermentation in French oak hogsheads and puncheons, approximately 40% new. Around 70% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, followed by ten months on largely unstirred lees. It is a measured élevage: enough oak and lees work to build dimension while retaining the mineral tension of the site.
The 2025 is powerful but remarkably precise. Preserved citrus, ripe peach and pear meet pie crust, dried hay, cashew, subtle caramel and savoury stock-like complexity. A current of bright acidity and stony minerality drives the palate, preventing its concentration from becoming weighty. This was the earliest harvest in Bannockburn’s history, yet the wine shows no shortage of depth or flavour.
Cellared Says
SRH is the bottle for anyone who thinks Bannockburn Chardonnay is primarily about richness. There is plenty of flavour here, but its real quality lies in the movement: fruit, oak, acidity and mineral texture arriving in layers without one taking control. It already feels complete, although five to ten years in the cellar will reveal considerably more.
Reviews
“This is fluid flavour delivered at its most fancy. It’s plainly excellent.”
95 points — Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Region: Geelong
Sub Region: Moorabool Valley
Variety: Chardonnay
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2025
The Wine
SRH is drawn from just 12 rows of Bannockburn’s oldest Chardonnay vines, planted in 1976 on the north-facing Olive Tree Hill vineyard. Named in honour of founder Stuart Reginald Hooper, this tiny 2.46-acre parcel is planted to the P58 clone, with roots reaching through clay and limestone towards ancient marine sediment.
The fruit was handpicked and whole-bunch pressed before wild fermentation in French oak hogsheads and puncheons, approximately 40% new. Around 70% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, followed by ten months on largely unstirred lees. It is a measured élevage: enough oak and lees work to build dimension while retaining the mineral tension of the site.
The 2025 is powerful but remarkably precise. Preserved citrus, ripe peach and pear meet pie crust, dried hay, cashew, subtle caramel and savoury stock-like complexity. A current of bright acidity and stony minerality drives the palate, preventing its concentration from becoming weighty. This was the earliest harvest in Bannockburn’s history, yet the wine shows no shortage of depth or flavour.
Cellared Says
SRH is the bottle for anyone who thinks Bannockburn Chardonnay is primarily about richness. There is plenty of flavour here, but its real quality lies in the movement: fruit, oak, acidity and mineral texture arriving in layers without one taking control. It already feels complete, although five to ten years in the cellar will reveal considerably more.
Reviews
“This is fluid flavour delivered at its most fancy. It’s plainly excellent.”
95 points — Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
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