fine wine from de la terre – for when you are completely over the corporate offerings

delaterre.co.nz

i made a promise to myself before i travelled down to hawkes bay (new zealand) for the xmas holidays that i would not cross the threshold of a big balance sheet ‘corporate’ winery and that i would throw caution to the wind and visit places i had never heard of, nor had recommended by friends.  the criteria had to be that i knew nothing about it, either directly or indirectly

so my brother in law and i were roaring out along the napier-taihape road when we spied the de la terre sign at the edge of the road.  the sun was still high, and in truth a bit hot for standing in so we decided to delay our fly fishing and investigate de la terre winery to see if it fitted my criteria

the short answer is it does.  the long answer answer is it greatly exceeded my expectations

husband & wife owners kaye & tony prichard have worked their fingers to the bone for 30 years i would suggest to realise their dream that is de la terre.  tony has worked for a number of corporate winemakers during this time up until 2005, and since then when struck out on his own to create de la terre he has supplumented his income by offering his services to other vineyards as a consultant wine maker

during this time he has also found time to build his buildings on the property by taking clay from the ground and making them into bricks and getting through the myriad of red tape that exists these days to strangle such enterprising activity.  not only that but the quality of the joinery and cabinet making that he has undertaken completely on his own with recycled new zealand native hardwoods evidence that he is highly skilled as a joiner and cabinet maker – come and visit and see the beauty of one of tony’s matai chairs for yourself.  in addition tony has built from wood the labelling machine that labels all his bottles and also has an extensive range of his own trout fishing fly patterns that he ties himself that are available for purchase

anyway i digress, to convey to you that kaye & tony are the genuine article.  the wine, the wine, i hear you say

of the white wines i tried their EVB Chardonnay 2009, and also the barrel fermented (oaked) Chardonnay which i think was a 2013 but im not sure on that.  they were good, and better with food but of tony’s own admission these wines could be confused in a blind taste test with offerings from another vineyard.  very good, but not a wine that was so unique and stand out that it could never be confused with anything else.  indeed if you had visited and only tried the white wine i suspect you might drive home wondering what all the fuss was about

for that reason it is important that you try the red wines of de la terre, because at least the three that i tried you will never ever confuse with another new zealand vineyard using the same grape variety, not in my view at least

i tried the 2009 Syrah and my immediate impression was wow, it tastes a bit young and needs to be cellared for another 5 years, and my second thought was hang on, i didnt think new zealand could make Syrah this good, we’re not supposed to have the climate.  The best pinot noir from New Zealand is highly regarded, but as a rule our other red wine offerings i always understood to be poor when placed on the world stage to be honest. For me it has always been New Zealand white wine and Australian red wine, and everywhere else as an adventure to broaden my palate and appreciation (South America, France, Italy, Germany, Lebanon and other interesting old wine makers of the Middle East, and South Africa)

It was not until we opened a bottle of the 2009 de la terre Syrah the next night at my brother in laws place and paired it with a red deer that he had shot, which we seasoned with cumin, black pepper, salt, and some other herbs that escape me just now and the full depth and complexity of this wine was projected upon us.  If you think New Zealand cant produce a decent Syrah to save itself you do need to try this 2009 Syrah from de la terre.  Very, very good.  Believe me, i am struggling to write this blog post with a wireless tether to my mobile phone as i promised kaye and tony that i would as i was so impressed with their wine, so if the wine hadnt impressed there is no way i would be stuggling here with repeated dropouts in the connection, Bah!  believe me, these people are making really good stuff

the next wine we come to is the 2013 Montepulciano, which to be honest i have not tried another offering from a New Zealand grower, only that in Italy.  i am pleased to report that this wine doesnt fall under the usual cheesy new zealand banner of ‘a unique new zealand take on a classic’, which is short hand for we tried to grown this fabulous italian grape in new zealand but unfortunately it is unrecognisable from what they product in italy.  no, im pleased to say i instantly recognised this as Montepulciano and the second thought that my tongue sent to my head was this tastes way way too young.  I bought four bottles of this, as i did of the Syrah, but unlike the Syrah this is simply not ready to drink yet – it would be a crime to.  This is a wine that will become fabulous with five more years on the bottle, so a little patience is required

the final wine that i tasted is the 2011 tannat.  tannat has an interesting back story which you can google, it relates to its identification as being perhaps the only red wine in france that really does lower the incidence of heart disease.  it is backed my solid medical research and tony took the time to step me through it, but i cant be bothered to recount it in detail here as it would run to several pages, but do look it up if you are interested.  anyway, this wine isnt a crowd pleaser as it has higher levels of tannic acid from memory than pretty much any other red wine out there (which is why it is good warding off heart disease we are told).  to be honest i was expecting it to taste quite similar to chewing on an oak door, but it is much more pleasant than that, much softer, more subtle, and more complex.  make no mistake, the high level of tannins mean it has a steely structure to it that is instantly recognisable but it is not unpleasant.  like the montepulciano it is simply way too young to drink and i was told that it will improve in the cellar for up to another 15 years.  like the syrah, it will be superb with red game meat

and that is quite enough as the sun has now set and i am being eaten alive by mosquitos and bugs are being draw to the light of my laptop screen

another post next week when comms are a bit easier!

happy new year

reiss.

Ps – I forgot to note what I like about the differences in the de la terre approach

they are;

1. They don’t filter the life out of their wines – wine is a natural product and I expect to see some sediment and crystals in the bottom of my glass, if you’re not prepared for that buy your wine at the supermarket where it’s superfiltered so it’s as clear as ribena

2. De la terre are prepared to craft wines that need time to mature.  If you are reading this in Europe this may sound odd, but in New Zealand the twin pressures of volume consumers expecting instant gratification and not being willing to cellar anything and the need to convert your stock holdings into cash to provide sufficient liquidity in a small business mean that wines that have sufficient quality in them to endure being cellared for any length of time are relatively rare.  De la terre are doing it

3.  They are bringing unusual, for New Zealand at least, grape varieties to their customers.  New Zealand is a bit fixated on Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Pinot noir.  This is partly a reflection of what we can grow well, but also a reflection of what sells well here; wines that on the whole are ready to drink without cellaring and fairly mild such that don’t upset too many palates.  It is nice to see de la terre taking a long terre view and bholding wines with the necessary structure and quality for New Zealand wines to take the next step up on the international stage and offer some real investment grade wines that will only be enhanced with a lengthy period in the cellar.  It’s ironic that a husband and wife time are taking the risk and producing more mature, highly structured wines that possess much greater durability than what New Zealand wines have typically produced

if you are unable to visit de la terre in person telephone or email them to arrange a consignment to be shipped to you.  Just be very specific in ensuring it is very securely packaged, for obvious reasons as all couriers are equally rough