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De La Terre is a beautiful, sloping vineyard that was planted in 2007 to 10,000 vines per hectare. This planting density is still rare in an Australian setting, and results in a natural yield of around 500 grams per vine or less (i.e., Burgundy Grand Cru levels). De La Terre lies right 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 very different, with De La Terre gifting an inkier, wilder and spicier expression of Pinot than Serré. Along with the slope, factors in these differences include the clonal selection (777 and 114), and the north-south row orientation (rather than the east-west of Serré).
James Halliday’s “reminiscent of a young DRC,” remark—penned for the 2012 De la Terre—was, and remains, a wonderful endorsement for this close-planted site, and the 2013, while a very different beast, again delivers on this site's potential. This vintage saw 100% whole-bunch and 33% new oak (Tronçais hogsheads) for 12 months, followed by 6 months in older barriques.