The evolution of Bannockburn’s Estate Pinot continues unabated under Matt Holmes’ direction. As we have seen, Holmes has introduced an earlier-bottling regime and is also being more reticent in his use of whole bunches than his predecessors. It is now the strong personality of the sites—which are now farmed organically—that drive the character of this wine.
The 2018 was drawn from batches of Pinot Noir from several different blocks planted in 1976, 1997 and 2007. The soils of all these blocks are volcanic loam and dark clay over a limestone clay base. All the fruit was fermented with indigenous yeast, with just 20% whole bunches left in the ferment. Élevage played out for 12 months, primarily in Tronçais and Bertranges hogsheads (25% new).