De Toren saw that complexity can be found through design. The design of the De Toren Fusion V and De Toren Zs blends were decided upon. The vines were then planted to match the make up of the blend. Creating a blended wine is like painting, with each texture, aroma and flavour a different colour. The De Toren palette is made up of a selection of soils, rootstocks, vines, grapes, and barrels.
25 different clones of the five bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, are matched to 10 different rootstocks, before being planted across fifteen different soil types. Each variety, clone and root stock is matched to the soil type to gain as much complexity from the vineyard as possible.
These grapes are handpicked in the first two hours of daylight, and immediately taken to a cool room to preserve their flavour and freshness. Only these two hours are used for picking, the rest of the 10 hour harvest work day is spent inspecting and selecting the best grapes for the cellar. Every beautiful, fault free berry that makes it into a bottle of De Toren wine has to pass through 23 different check points. There are no short cuts to perfection. By guarding the integrity of the fruit De Toren produces through meticulous attention to detail, every bottle of De Toren wine is special; and for those who are able to get one, this pursuit is reflected in every sip.
The quest for perfect fruit is a daily journey at De Toren. The objective is clear: create an environment where vines produce flawless fruit and then guard these grapes as they are gently steered from vineyard, to cellar to bottle. Every sip of De Toren wine is the memory of the fruit's perfection.
Carefully controlled drip irrigation ensures that each vine is kept in that precarious state of struggle, allowing for concentrated, full flavoured, small berries to grow. The yields are small here. A De Toren a vine only produces just over a kilogram of grapes. Before harvest even begins up to 40% of the bunches are removed, to ensure all the vine's energy goes into producing small and concentrated berries. Using a combination of aerial imaging, detailed chemical analysis, and taste tests, the vineyard is divided up, and harvested bit by bit, making sure only perfectly ripe grapes are picked.
