2011 SHIRAZ, De La Roche, Bannockburn. Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Geelong is about 80km west of Melbourne. It’s not a beautiful area but the cooling ocean breezes and the aged limestone soils make it ideal for growing Pinot Noir. The winery is named after the nearby township of Bannockburn.

From their UK agent GB vintners:
“The Hoopers were one of the first families to plant vines here post the phylloxera years & one of the few still in operation. If you didn’t know, Geelong was the first region, originally, planted with grapes in Victoria in the 1840’s by the Swiss. The wines have always pivoted to Burgundy in style and in recent years this has been matched by even more work moving towards organic farming & improving viticulture. Their wines are prized possessions on the secondary market due to their ability to age well. I remember first trying a 1999 Shiraz that was clean, bags of aromatics, not overblown, soft and maturing with calming elegance, this was in 2016.
This (De La Roche) 0.8-hectare vineyard lies on higher ground above the De La Terre slope, so essentially it’s a westerly extension of the Serré vineyard. The vines came from cuttings taken from Best’s and Tahbilk, and were planted on a mix of rootstock and own roots. The name ‘Of the Rocks’ alludes to the plethora of volcanic rocks that litter the soil of this parcel.”