De La Terre, named in reference to our ethos ‘of the earth’, was planted in 2007 and certified organic in 2021. Made up of two blocks, this vineyard is a high-density planting adjacent to Serré, but explores variables of exposition, orientation and clonal make up.

Viticulture

De La Terre Pinot Noir is made from a 1.78 acre vineyard block, planted in 2007. The clone is predominately 777, but includes a portion of 114. The vine spacing is 1m and the row spacing is 1.2m, and the block is made up of two sections - the top flat section which has north-south row orientation, and the east slope which has an east-west orientation. The soils are made up of dark clay over weathered basalt and limestone.

Winemaking

Handpicked parcels of fruit were wild fermented separately with 100% whole bunch including carbonic maceration. After pressing the wine was racked to French oak hogsheads of which 30% was new oak. The wine was left undisturbed for 10 months prior to blending and bottling.

Tasting Note

The 2022 vintage offers a wine of wildness and prettiness courtesy of the stems and the soils. An intriguing and complex fragrance which draws one back to the glass, with elegance and freshness in the flavours.

Reviews

94+ points. Pinot Noir to its back teeth, in the best of ways. So complex, so earthen, so strewn with undergrowth and herbs, but simultaneously lively with fruit, or enough so. Glossy oak, sweet-sour cherries and all those complexing elements lead to a sustained, expansive finish. Yes. Excellent. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.