Te Mata Estate Coleraine is arguably New Zealand’s greatest red wine. Certainly, it’s been produced for a long time, 26 vintages, and has been at or near the totem most of that time. These days it could be argued that pinot noir is NZ’s most successful red variety. But Te Mata Estate Coleraine was the fi rst Kiwi cabernet blend to rock the world, which it did from its fi rst vintage, 1982. It was based on a single vineyard surrounding owner John Buck’s house in the Hawkes Bay region.
I will never forget tasting the ’82, at a Sydney shop The Oak Barrel, when it was released in the early ‘80s. I’d never tasted a half-decent Kiwi red wine till then (pinot noir being a good decade away), and I was gobsmacked.
Te Mata’s second-string red is called Awatea. Both are blends of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. The price of both has escalated, although Awatea is still aff ordable at $42 to $45 (Coleraine is $81 to $88). The 2007 vintages of both wines are superb. Coleraine is more heavily oaked and more tannic: deeper, tighter and built to age longer. A great wine without doubt, although you need to cellar it at least fi ve years, preferably 10 to 15, to get your full pay-off .
You expect a mind-bending wine with Coleraine. But the ’07 Awatea is the more startling, because it’s probably the best Awatea yet – certainly the best I can recall. It is more accessible, less tannic, more fruit driven and full of charm, especially if you give it some air. Very good concentration, soft tannins, moderate oak and, like Coleraine, superbly ripe fruit fl avours in the dark-berry spectrum, without any herbaceousness. I’d expect it to also cellar 15years. Huon Hooke, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend Saturday 20th June 2009
The grapes for Coleraine ‘07 were hand-harvested from their separate plots within Te Mata Estate’s vineyards between 4 and 24 April 2007. The grapes were destemmed before undergoing a traditional warm, plunged fermentation with extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were run to predominantly new French oak barrels for 20 months’ maturation. Throughout this time, the barrels were regularly topped and racked. The separate wines were blended in January 2008, then egg white fined during the second winter in barrel. The finished wine was bottled in January 2009.
Coleraine ‘07 has a saturated crimson colour. The aroma shows perfectly ripe blackcurrant fruit with floral notes, leading into cherry stone and cocoa powder. The palate is intense with layers of ripe dark fruit, chocolate, marzipan, roasted coffee and rich, fine tannins. Coleraine ‘07 is a blend of 52% cabernet sauvignon, 14% cabernet franc and 34% merlot. It will continue to develop in bottle and provide great enjoyment between 8 to 18 years from harvest.
