“It all began in 2002 when I stumbled across an etching of a large gnarly looking ram standing in a field during my travels. He was defiant, a little sauvage, had an old world charm and was very New Zealand. I bought him, had him framed and hung him up in my lounge…”
Theo Coles is no stranger to winemaking in New Zealand. He was the hands and palate behind the likes of Kalex and Mountford Estate – both brands we’ve enjoyed enough to have represented at some stage in our DN journey.
The Hermit Ram is Theo’s own personal wine ‘experiment’, if you will. It’s how he can express himself freely and work really naturally using ancient techniques in this new-world country.
“One of the more unusual North Canterbury producers is Theo Coles of the Hermit Ram… Mr. Coles is an iconoclast, much given to experimentation. His wines are unusual… but they are almost always interesting and distinctive.
“I make wines with structure but without tannins,” he said. “What does New Zealand taste like? Forest and animals.””Eric Asimov for The New York Times
The “Reasons” Explained by Theo
10 years after finding his gnarly ram etching, Theo met Gareth Renowden, the owner of the Limestone Hills vineyard in the Waipara Gorge.
“Along with a truffiere he had 1000 Pinot Noir vines planted on beautiful active limestone soil. He wanted help to make some wine, after a walk and a talk we agreed to make the wine together. I thought ‘at least I’ll have some decent Pinot to drink..’
Gareth’s vineyard ticks all the boxes, it is close planted, naturally farmed and small. I made the first vintage of Pinot Noir in 2012, all naturally, no additions and matured in neutral oak hogsheads. As the wine progressed through maturation it got better and better, and revealed its true vineyard character to me. It had an exciting mix of savoury fruit aromatics and salivating salty acidity. I had to bottle it.
I was sitting on my couch contemplating how I’d present the wine in bottle and I looked up. There staring me in the face was the framed etching of the Ram. It all made sense.
So ‘The Hermit Ram’ came into being. He summed up the ethos of working with tiny sites and ancient techniques applied to New Zealand flavours, that I really wanted to pursue.
Today, the range of wines has expanded. In general the fruit comes from tiny vineyards throughout the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Every wine has it’s own story to tell. The vines are naturally farmed and the wines made with the minimal amount of additions. Old techniques are employed. They are wines of depth, complexity, individuality and most importantly drinkability.”
“Theo Coles makes quite remarkable wines from the Limestone Hills Vineyard… They are so far removed from what most people experience as New Zealand wines, and yet they are full of excitement, even if that sometimes takes them close to the edge.”
David Crossley’s World of Fine Wine
The Limestone
One of the driving passions behind the Hermit Ram is the seeking out of Pinot Noir planted on active clay limestone soils. The activity in the soil promotes a salinity and acidity in the wine which surpasses tannins for structure.
Ultimately this structural profile drives an incredible link between the flavours of the resultant wine and the conditions unique to that site. The wines can be haunting and fine yet salty and assertive. They tell a story about their little patch of dirt.
To make certain that the story they tell is true, all the wines are made with as little interference as possible and bottled with a minimal amount of Sulphur.
“One of the more unusual North Canterbury producers is Theo Coles of the Hermit Ram… Mr. Coles is an iconoclast, much given to experimentation. His wines are unusual… but they are almost always interesting and distinctive.
“I make wines with structure but without tannins,” he said. “What does New Zealand taste like? Forest and animals.””Eric Asimov for The New York Times
“The more winemakers we meet, the more we understand that the greatest winemakers are also the most humble. That’s definitely the case when it comes to Theo Coles of the Hermit Ram. When we chat with him, it’s clear his enthusiasm for his craft grows on a daily basis, but so does his way of thinking – with experience, he becomes more open-minded, not less.
It’s arguably this mindset that has brought him to where he is today; creating some of the most thrilling and exciting wines that New Zealand has to offer.”Christina Rasmussen for Little Wine
“Theo told us that “Europe has the benefit of many generations of winemakers who did the exploring – out here, we need to do it all in a single life.” This statement resonates with his wines, deep and clear, and which taste refreshingly full spectrum.”
“The Hermit Ram is one of New Zealand’s most idiosyncratic and compelling wine projects.”
Normanby
“My region tastes like kelp and the sea and shellfish. A lot of people try to remove these notes, but I want to lengthen and deepen them.”
The Wines
“For me, The Hermit Ram is about capturing the raw, wild spirit of New Zealand’s South Island—its rugged landscapes shaped by volcanic and seismic forces over millions of years. The limestone soils here tell a story of ancient seas, but beneath the surface, the land’s restless energy continues to pulse through the earth, giving our wines a vibrant mineral backbone and a sense of place that’s both dynamic and alive.
These wines take a very different journey to the New Zealand norm—driven by curiosity and a love of experimentation. There are no strict rules here, only one guiding principle: that the wines must be delicious.”
The Hermit Ram Salty White 2022
- Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling
- Whole bunch fermentation, partially in stainless steel, and partially in amphora. Two barrels are filled and left untopped to develop a layer of flor.
- Video of it being made here
“Salty White is my ode to the New Zealand coastline, an attempt to marry both the saline and floral elements of our land.” – Theo Coles
- Jamie Goode’s The Wine Anorak, 94 Points: “The latest hit from the ever-interesting Theo Coles. 11.5% alcohol. Full golden colour, this is beautifully salty and fruity with pineapple, pear, ripe apple and some grapefruit. Dense and ripe with nice intensity and a lovely tangy edge from some Flor involvement. Such goodness here.”
The Hermit Ram Zealandia Chardonnay 2024
- 100% Chardonnay
- Foot-crushed Chardonnay from Nelson fermented in tank then matured in ancient 500L barrels for 24 months
- Grown on gravels and marine clay
Saline and textural this wine straddles the divide between new world and old world Chardonnay.
The Hermit Ram Zealandia Pinot Noir 2024
- 100% Pinot Noir | 12.5% alc
- Whole berry fermented, short maceration
- From several vineyards in North Canterbury. Grown on clay limestone and gravels
The Pinot Noir grapes come from organically-grown vineyards around North Canterbury. They are destemmed, fermented with native yeasts (with just one gentle punchdown) and macerated on skins for six weeks. The wine is matured in Tinajas (lined Spanish clay amphora) and bottled unfined, unfiltered with only minimal sulphur.
The Hermit Ram Dead Flowers 2023
- Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer blend
- Whole bunches Gewürztraminer fermented in Gewürztraminer juice, pressed when dry and matured in tank for 18 month
- Blended with Pinot noir which was macerated for 6 weeks on skins to create a supple, aromatic yet mineral light red wine.
- Grown on clay limestone and glacial gravels.
“I loved his 2023 Dead Flowers, that blend of pinot and gewürz, juicy, saline and easygoing — ‘one plus one equals three,” is how Mr. Coles described it.” -Eric Asimov, New York Times
“The Hermit Ram is one of New Zealand’s most idiosyncratic and compelling wine projects.”
Normanby
