Certified organic. De La Terre is a beautiful, sloping vineyard that was planted in 2007 to 10,000 vines per hectare. Still quite rare in an Australian setting, the planting density results in very low natural yields of Burgundy Grand Cru levels. De La Terre lies beside the Serré vineyard, although it sits on the slope, whereas Serré is on a small plateau directly above. Despite this proximity, the wines are startlingly different. Along with the slope, the clonal selection (777), and north-south row orientation (rather than the east-west of Serré) contribute to the difference in personality.
Penned in 2012, James Halliday’s “reminiscent of a young DRC,” remark remains a ringing endorsement for this close-planted site. The 2024 serves as a powerful reminder of the heights this site can scale. Where the 2022 fermented with 100% whole bunches, the new release was complexly destemmed and fermented wild on skins for 10 days before pressing into French oak hogshead barrels, 25% of which were new.
The DNA of this site is becoming ever more prominent. De La Terre is lighter and finer in structure than Serré: a wine of delicious earthy allusions which manifest this year in ripe red fruit swaddled in ferrous- and herb-like complexity. The new release is perfumed and intense, yet superbly sculpted and layered with wonderful, cherry-cola fruit, loads of spice and fine, gravelly tannins. A detailed and savoury Pinot Noir that always sits on the edgier side of Bannockburn’s stylistic spectrum.