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De La Terre is a beautiful, sloping vineyard that was planted in 2007 to 8,333 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 (predominantly 777, with a portion of 114), and the mixed row orientation across the block's two sections — north-south on the flat top, east-west on the sloping section — 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 2025 serves as a powerful reminder of the heights this site can scale. Fruit was handpicked and fermented in open-top fermenters, with a portion of whole cluster layered through the ferments; the wine spent 13 days on skins before being pressed into French oak hogshead barrels, 30% of which were new.
The DNA of this site is becoming ever more prominent. Lighter and finer in structure than Serré, De La Terre is an elegant, high-toned Pinot Noir with lifted aromas of dried herbs, incense, red cherry, floral spice, cherry cola, bitter Campari and orange rind. The high-density planting brings concentration as detail and texture rather than weight, with fine tannins, fresh acidity and a persistent mineral finish. Filigreed, fragrant and distinctly savoury, this may be the finest expression yet from the site.