Description
“New Zealand’s First Growth. Many critics consider Coleraine up there with the best Bordeaux blends in the world.” Andy Howard MW
“New Zealand’s Grange equivalent, only Coleraine comes from one place, is much cheaper, and to my tastes, is significantly better and more interesting.” Gary Walsh
TOP 50 WINES OF THE WORLD … “New Zealand’s Sassicaia.” James Suckling
Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognized wines exclusively from its Hawke’s Bay vineyards. The Estate’s ownership varied frequently until John and Wendy Buck acquired it in 1978. John and Wendy instigated a twenty-year development program, which commenced with the restoration of the original winery building and the replanting of all of the original vineyards, as well as the acquisition of new vineyard sites.
The range of temperature and soil types, allied with the rainfall band between 650-850mm, create conditions to produce high quality wines of a classic range akin to those of coastal, central and northern France. Te Mata wines are similar in weight and balance but with unique lifted floral and fruit aromas.
Te Mata winery has been ranked ‘Top Winery in New Zealand’ evidenced by the consistent quality of the Coleraine and Awatea Cabernet Merlot wines, the Bull Nose Syrah and the Elston Chardonnay.
Coleraine is NZ’s most famous red wine. First produced in 1982, this classic blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc displays the concentration, complexity and elegance found in the world’s finest wines.
Coleraine derives its name from the Coleraine vineyard, home of John and Wendy Buck of Te Mata Estate. John’s late grandfather was born in Coleraine in Northern Ireland and the name has been maintained through the family home to the wine. A single vineyard wine until 1989, Coleraine is an assemblage of the finest wines produced from distinct plots within Te Mata Estate’s oldest Havelock Hills vineyards first planted in 1892.
Coleraine 2022 was hand harvested from separate plots within Te Mata’s vineyards between 12 March and 1 April 2022.
Each parcel of grapes was destemmed before a traditional warm-plunged fermentation and extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were then run to predominately new French oak barrels for 17 months’ maturation. Throughout this time, they were regularly topped and racked. The assemblage was made in December 2022 and the finished wine was bottled in December 2023. The final blend is 84% cabernet sauvignon, 13% merlot and 3% cabernet franc.
Coleraine ‘22 is a modern reprise of what make’s Coleraine iconic, a wine balancing past and future, heritage and innovation. This is a statement wine, one that lingers both on the palate and in the mind.
The beautiful floral aromas of lavender, violet, plum and blackcurrant, are all in orbit around the wine’s dark savoury core of tightly wound graphite, nori, coffee grounds, vanilla and tobacco. The palate is intensely concentrated, with a superbright tension building freshness and precision as layer upon layer of fine polished tannins give pinpoint detail alongside signature, exacting, levels of finesse.
97+ points, Erin Larkin , Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate “The 2022 Coleraine is laden at this stage with the outrageous attractiveness of youth. I mean, it’s irresistible. There’s raspberry, nori, rose petals, coffee grounds, star anise, salted licorice, sun-dried kelp/nori, warm pine (I know this smell because I was hiking around the Te Mata peak yesterday, and there was a fallen pine tree lying in the sun, and it smelled great) and layers of peppercorns. In the mouth, the wine is so fresh, so alive, with so much energy, but it already is showing the svelte line of this house, this place. With a hint of raw cocoa laced through the finish, I’m sad to push this glass away. It will be the last time that I taste it for a while. A ripper. Excellent.”
96 points, James Suckling “A very elegant young Coleraine with lovely aromas of oyster shell, lead pencil, sweet tobacco, black currant and moss. Very perfumed and expressive. Medium-bodied with fine tannins that are polished and energetic with some citrusy acidity underneath. Some dust to the texture. This is the second highest blend of cabernet sauvignon in the history of Coleraine with 84% cabernet sauvignon, 13% merlot and the rest cabernet franc. March release. Best after 2027 and beyond.”
96 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front “Black fruit, some red, pencil lead, a little aniseed and floral perfume, nori, baking spice, pimento, slight vanilla. Medium-bodied, a fair bit of chew, dark fruit and dark chocolate, porcini mushroom umami, grainy tannin, concentrated and chewy, earthy and ferrous, with a bright line of very ‘mineral’ acidity on a long finish. Excellent, albeit a more Cabernet focussed expression of Coleraine, which marks it out as being different, and on that point such a worthy of addition to the cellar, though of course the wine is outstanding irrespective of that. Drink: 2027 – 2046+”
RRP $169 Our Special Price $148.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.