Delta Wine is a company and brand that is being repositioned following its full acquisition of shareholding by Neil Ibbotson of the Saint Clair winery from other founders David Gleave MW and Matt Thomson last year. The company was established initially to supply the U.K. market with Pinot Noir from a vineyard on the site of the Delta Farm at the mouth of the Waihopai Valley. In this guise, it increased its portfolio to include Sauvignon Blanc.
The new company now encompasses other varieties and other wine growing areas, the winemaking coming under the supervision of Heather Stewart, a senior and very experienced winemaker of Saint Clair. I must admit when it happened and the first new releases from the brand were released, I was worried that the label was being ‘dumbed-down’ to supply alternative retail channels and FMCG. I mentioned my concerns to the Saint Clair staff several times, but their response was that Delta Wines would not be lost as a premium brand.
Here I review a selection of wines from the Delta Wine Company that encompasses the value ‘River Delta’ range, the ‘regular’ ‘Delta’ tier, and the flagship ‘Hatters Hill’ label. I believe the redevelopment of this brand is just beginning again, and await further developments. www.deltawines.co.nz
