Te Mata Estate: New Zealand's Original Fine Wine Estate

Te Mata Estate

Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognised wines exclusively from it's Hawkes Bay vineyards. Te Mata Estate is recognised as one of New Zealand’s most prestigious wine producers, making nearly 40,000 cases a year of premium wine and exporting to over 42 countries.

Te Mata Estate makes wines from hand-harvested grapes from its own vineyards in Hawke's Bay.

Te Mata: the beginning

Te Mata Estate was originally part of Te Mata Station, a large pastoral land-holding established by English immigrant, John Chambers, in 1854. A homestead and stables were built on the property in the early 1870’s.

After returning from France, John Chamber’s third son, Bernard, had the idea to plant vineyards on the north-facing hills around Havelock North. In 1892, Bernard Chambers planted vines on three parcels of hillside land above the homestead and began converting the original stables to ferment and mature these first Te Mata Estate Wines.

Today, Te Mata Estate still uses those same three vineyards. The Chambers family sold the property in 1919. Te Mata Vineyards was established and the property had two other owners until it was acquired by the Buck and Morris families in 1974 – the two families behind the modern interpretation of this historic New Zealand estate. 135ha is planted across four Hawke’s Bay sub-regions.

A Unique Place: Te Mata's vineyards

Hawke’s Bay is a very special place for making wine. Its range of slopes, plains and climatic differences, coupled with low humidity and ample ultra-violet light, give winemakers a comprehensive toolkit to showcase their skills.

Soils are young and derived from the gravels, silt and sands left behind as the three main rivers of Hawke’s Bay changed course over thousands of years.

Te Mata Estate was established here in 1896, specialising in high-quality wines of classical style. Every step in the production of our wines is undertaken by us, from grape growing and pruning through to winemaking and bottling.

Te Mata: the wines

Te Mata Estate was established here in 1896, specialising in high-quality wines of classical style. Every step in the production of our wines is undertaken by the Te Mata team, from grape growing and pruning through to winemaking and bottling.

Over the last forty years, Te Mata Estate has established an internationally-recognised array of red and white wines including

• Coleraine,
• Awatea,
• Bullnose Syrah,
• Elston Chardonnay,
• Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc
• Zara Viognier.

Coleraine started to set records as NZ's most expensive collectors' wine in 2014. Decanter named Coleraine a 'Wine Legend.' This is the only NZ wine to achieve this.

In 2012, Te Mata Estate launched Estate Vineyards – a collection of six varietally-designated wines; Merlot/Cabernets, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Estate Vineyard wines are produced exclusively from Te Mata Estate’s own vineyards and represent the best qualities of their variety, vintage, and Hawke’s Bay origin.

Te Mata: some critic reviews

• New Zealand’s greatest winery. - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, USA
• “A Wine Legend - the most avidly collected of New Zealand red wines.” Stephen Brook, Decanter Magazine, August 2017
• “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
• “The country’s most iconic wine label.” Bob Campbell, Decanter UK, 2015
• “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 ' Setting the Standard', June 2017