Planted in 2007, this 0.8-hectare vineyard is littered with volcanic rocks (hence the name) and lies on the plateau above the De La Terre slope—essentially making it a westerly extension of the Serré vineyard. It was originally planted with various clonal cuttings from Best’s and Tahbilk on a mix of rootstock and own roots. Holmes only uses the Best’s clone in this bottling today and the rest of the site has been grafted over to Chardonnay, giving Bannockburn a close-planted Chardonnay block, named Grigsby after Bannockburn’s long-standing vineyard manager.
The fruit was wild fermented as whole bunches, followed by 12 months in French puncheons (33% new) and a further 12 months in five-year-old barriques.