De La Terre Hawke's Bay Syrah 2022

Description

Cherry, Oak, Spice

Deep ruby with a dark purple hue. Dark red stone fruits, a hint of exotic spice. Fresh and lively with typical Syrah berry-fruit and a light seam of black pepper. A great balance between fruit, tannin, acid and oak.

15 Vintages at Church Road, Tony Prichard is one of our greatest winemakers. De la terre' - literally 'of the earth' is a reference to both the vineyard soils and the earth brick construction used for the winery and cellar door. De la terre's winemaking methods are largely traditional with emphasis on minimal handling to retain the integrity and concentration of fruit. Food and wine matching is a particular focus - the wine style is designed to provide elegant wines to accompany food. De la terre Reserve wines are estate bottled and hand-labelled in individually numbered bottles, and all grapes are hand-picked from single vineyards.

The wine was fermented on skins for 17 days with significant aeration and some micro oxygenation for a short period after pressing off skins, in order to soften and round the tannins. The wine was aged for 24 months in French barriques (25% new) with regular racking (and returning to the same barrels) every 3 months or so to sequentially clarify the wine and allow for adjustment of SO2. No fining was used.