Benfield & Delamare

35 New York Street, Martinborough.

Introduction

Benfield and Delamare is the partnership of husband and wife team, Bill Benfield and Sue Delamare. Our vineyard at Cambridge Road was established in 1987 with first plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. We followed this in 1988 with plantings of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon at our Oxford Street vineyard and with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec at our home site in New York Street.

Our intent, from the outset, was to produce as good a red wine from the district as we could humanly achieve. The choice of varieties, viticulture and management of the vines reflects our personal belief in maximising the local conditions with the emphasis being on the quality rather than the quantity end of the continuum.

To this end we have planted at vine densities of up to 7500 vines per hectare against the more common 1500 to 2000 vines per hectare. To put this in perspective, whereas with many vineyards you can drive a tractor down the rows (which is what they're designed for), with our rows at a scant 1.5m, you get a very small tractor. Or walk.

All our vines are trained very low - less than half a metre above the ground - to gain enhanced ripening from ground heat. (The downside to being close to the ground is our vulnerability to frosts. We don't like it but we live with it.) We undertake a severe pruning regime, leaving just 5 to 10 buds per vine, to ensure cropping is kept low and thereby enhancing quality.

0ur wine making is very conservative and looks simply to build on the fruit quality developed in the vineyard. We handle the fruit as little as possible - grapes are crushed, very lightly, directly into the fermenting vats rather than the more common (and admittedly less back-breaking) alternative of using a must-pump.

In the tank the fruit undergoes a long, slow maceration and is pressed after 3 to 4 weeks. The wine is settled and racked to barrel for 12 to 18 month's maturation before bottling.

We do enjoy meeting wine lovers; showing people around the vineyard and winery and talking about what we do and why we do it. We could do it all day. Unfortunately, that's where a small conflict arises. Because to talk about the wine that we make, we have to spend pretty much all of the day in the vineyard and winery just to make it. For this reason we do not open to the public on a daily basis, not at present any- way So if you would like to visit us, we would enjoy seeing you. All we would ask is that you phone us in advance and we can arrange a suitable time.

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