Te Mata Coleraine 2022

Reviews

One of New Zealand's "Grand Cru" (Tipuranga Teitei o Aotearoa). Critics about Te Mata Coleraine 2021:

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit: 98/100. The ‘King of the Grape’ Cabernet Sauvignon comes to the fore with its flatteringly classy presence. This is captivating and totally seductive on the nose, exhibiting blackcurrant, violet, game, anise, subtle tobacco and cedary oak characters, leading to a powerfully concentrated palate displaying considerable depth and exceptional concentration. Harmonious too, it’s gloriously structured and balanced with a firm grip, yet the tannins are just right and seamlessly infused. Perfectly proportioned, this 2022 has the majestic feel that each previous Coleraine possess. At its best: 2032 to 2052.

Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 97+/100.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 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. It is clear to me that the Coleraine from Te Mata is New Zealand’s greatest Cabernet blend... Every 1% pays off, and that is the defining difference between a good estate and a great one.

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 96/100.  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.

Michael Cooper: Super Classic. Breed, rather than brute power, is the hallmark of Coleraine (correctly pronounced Cole-raine rather than Coler-aine), which since its first vintage in 1982 has carved out an illustrious reputation among New Zealand’s claret-style reds. In all vintages since 2007, Cabernet Sauvignon has been the predominant variety. At its best, it is a magical Hawke’s Bay wine, with a depth, complexity and subtlety on the level of a top-class Bordeaux. The grapes are grown and hand-picked in the Havelock North hills, in the company’s warm, north-facing Buck and 1892 vineyards, and the wine is matured for 16 to 20 months in French oak barriques, predominantly new.

Tasting Note:

Coleraine ’22 harnesses the energy and complexity of Te Mata cabernet sauvignon, on show at its highest level since the first Coleraine in 1982. 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. 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.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Varietals: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc.

Food match: rare roast beef

Vineyards: Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Originally a single vineyard wine, from 1989 Coleraine has been an assemblage of the finest wines produced from distinct plots within Te Mata Estate's oldest vineyards on the Havelock Hills. Te Mata Coleraine 2022 was hand harvested from separate plots within Te Mata’s vineyards.

Winemaking: 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 name Coleraine: 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. Originally a single vineyard wine, from 1989 Coleraine has been an assemblage of the finest wines produced from distinct plots within Te Mata Estate’s oldest vineyards on the Havelock Hills.

Alcohol: 13.5% vol

Residual sugar: dry

Notice: Contains sulphites, egg.

Cellaring potential: 2040+

Closure: Cork

Bottle size: 0.75l

Produced and bottled by: Te Mata Estate, PO Box 8335, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay 4157, New Zealand

Distributor: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany

On Coleraine

• "This highly collectible red is snapped up every year it is released." -  Bob Campbell MW, Kia Ora Magazine, June 2018 
• "Te Mata Estate Coleraine has won well-deserved iconic status for a string of elegant and complex wines that first appeared in 1982, blazing a trail for others to follow." -  Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, June 2018 
• "If there was Kiwi wine aristocracy, Te Mata would be it. Nestled in the foothills of the Te Mata heritage zone, they make some of the best wines in the country. Independent, family-owned, exclusively Hawke’s Bay, and committed to making premium wine on site." - Cuisine Wine, 2017 
• "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, The Wine Front, Australia. March 2017 
• "The legendary cabernet sauvignon and merlot blend of NZ. New Zealand’s Sassicaia." -  James Suckling, jamessuckling.com, USA 2012 
• "My benchmark. I’ve had every vintage of Coleraine the Buck family have made, from the inaugural 1982 to the current 2015. Te Mata Estate is the standard by which every other wine producer could be judged. The full range of styles has always been impeccable." -  Raymond Chan Wine Reviews 
• "Arguably New Zealand’s most prestigious wine. No one dreamed such a wine could be made from New Zealand grapes. Dramatically raising the bar for red wine in New Zealand." Coleraine ’16 Review Summary, Bob Campbell Decanter Magazine, October 2018 
• "A great wine from the very first vintage. Consistently great." -  Huon Hooke, The Real Review October 2018 
• "A national treasure. A benchmark, with a remarkable track record for age-worthiness. Consistently high quality and style have been hallmarks since day one." - Linda Murphy, jancisrobinson.com. October 2018
• "The Buck family of the Te Mata estate produce the best New Zealand wine I have come across … could have passed muster as a classed-growth claret." - Bruce Anderson, The Spectator, May 2020