Bannockburn Vineyards sits on the volcanic loam and dark clay soils of the Moorabool Valley in Geelong, Victoria, an estate founded by Stuart Hooper in 1974 and long regarded as one of the region's benchmark Pinot producers. The estate Pinot draws on the full spread of the property's plantings, from the old MV6 vines of Olive Tree Hill (1976) through 10 Rows (1991), Stuart Block (1997) and Anns Block (2004) to the close-planted De La Terre block (2007), taking in a mix of MV6 and Dijon clones. All sit on volcanic loam and clay over limestone. Farming leans towards organic practice, and the cool 2025 Geelong season favoured perfume, fine tannin and bright natural acidity.

Fruit from each block was fermented separately, with around 20 per cent whole bunches included and a small portion given carbonic maceration to lift aromatics. After fermentation the wine was pressed to hogsheads and puncheons, about 25 per cent of them new, for roughly ten months' maturation before blending. The style is medium-bodied and savoury, built on sinewy, fine-grained tannin and a tight core of red fruit rather than extraction or heavy oak, and made with minimal intervention across the winery.