Bannockburn 1314 A.D. Pinot Noir 2016

New winemaker Matt Holmes has changed the style (if just a little), utilizing only 20% whole bunches compared to his predecessor Michael Glover who used 100% full stems. Matt may have toned down the polarising elements of Michael's style, but it's still very classically sappy, spicy and racy Pinot with the kind of hearty disposition so typical of Bannockburn. The stem influence is there but it's in the slipstream of a vibrant, punchy texture with plenty of fresh, dark cherry fruit to go with those sappy notes.

"You would be hard pressed to find a better value for money Pinot. Made in similar style to the Estate wine with definitive whole bunch character, lip smackingly expressive fruit and oak treatment that you rarely find on a wine sub $30."  Patrick Eckel 

The fruit for 1314 A.D. comes primarily from Ann's Block, a Pinot Noir vineyard planted in 2002 with MV6, 114 and 115 clones, with a density of 2500 vines/ha. This vineyard also supplies fruit to the much more expensive Bannockburn Estate wine.

Expert reviews

"I'm happy to go on record as saying this is the most interesting and complex pinot I've tasted for under $30. Dark cherry fruit, spice and sap combine to make up a lip-smacking pinot that is moreish and easy to drink. Not for everyone as it walks on the wild side, but lovers of sour cherry, sappy flavours derived from whole bunch influence should not hesitate."  Nick Munday, Canterbury Wines - 95 points

"You would be hard pressed to find a better value for money Pinot, the 1314 release is made in similar style to the Estate wine with definitive whole bunch character (20%), lip smakingly expressive fruit and oak treatment that you rarely find on a wine sub $30.

A youthful light red in colour with a nose of sappy rhubarb and cherry with aromatic oak that gives a touch of wood smoke. The palate is medium to full bodied with well defined and expressed dimensions of fruit, oak and tannin. The finish combines dark cherry with subtle undergrowth and a lingering spice of French oak.

The 1314 is still a well kept secret, it's worth hunting some down."  Patrick Eckel, Winereviewer.com.au – 94 points

"The last vintage of Bannockburn's entry-level (ish) 1314 Pinot I had was wild. Polarising wild. With 100% whole bunches, it was a sappy, bitter beast that had depth, but was way too brutal for a $30 Pinot. But there's been changes at this Geelong icon, with Michael Glover exiting and Bannockburn's new winemaker Matt Holmes changing the style (if just a little).

With the new '16 vintage of 1314 Pinot that equals less whole bunches (just 20%) but the same recipe otherwise – so still sourced from Bannockburn's Ann's Pinot block, wild fermented and matured for 8 months in oak.

Stylistically, this taps into the very best of the Bannockburn styles, with still the same sappy, ripe and very Pinoty nose. This is Geelong Pinot mate, and it smells unlike Burgundy (terroir at work). Importantly, this has a length of sappy, almost stewed (but not in an overripe sense) fruit, and some late bitterness for backbone. The stems are there, but so is that fruit too, in a not-delicate-but-delicious style.

I've tasted a bit of Burgundy recently, and know that if you slipped this into a blind lineup of village level wines, it would smash many. Yet price-wise we're talking about a wine that sells for sub $30AUD, which is more akin to shitty Bourgogne prices (in Australia at least).

Substantial wine for the dollars. Best drinking: 2017-2023. 12.5%, $30. Would I buy it? Yes."  Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review  – 93 points

About the winery

Stuart Hooper was a successful businessman with a passion for everything about wine and a deep love for the wines of Burgundy. He envisioned creating a vineyard that would produce Australian wine of a quality to emulate the great regions of France.

In 1974 Stuart selected a plot of land in the Moorabool Valley near the township of Bannockburn and planted 3 hectares of Shiraz. Before long, more land was acquired, more vines and varieties planted and Bannockburn Vineyards is now one of the most highly regarded small winemaking estates in Australia. It was inevitable that pinot noir and chardonnay would form the major part of the plantings, with lesser amounts of riesling, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and merlot.

Stuart has since passed, but Bannockburn Vineyards remains in the Hooper family, with his daughters as custodians to ensure his philosophy is preserved. Matt Holmes was appointed winemaker in 2015. Lucas Grigsby, Viticultural Manager for over 30 years, takes personal pride tending to the vineyards with a belief in organic farming practices to maintain the health of the soils and vines. In the winery, Matt Holmes believes in minimal additions, wild yeast ferments and low intervention winemaking. The results are wines that are made with integrity and that are distinctively Bannockburn.