How does the new Te Mata Coleraine 2022 taste?

Let’s get this out of the way first – yes, the new Coleraine is great.

I had the pleasure of tasting the first Te Mata Coleraine a few years back amidst a vertical from that glorious 1982 to the 2016) that was chock full of consistent greatness. And now, after enjoying a glass or two of the Te Mata Coleraine 2022, I can confirm that the bloodline has delivered once again.

For mine, Coleraine’s appeal is the careful balance between contained power and proper Cabernet flavour. This Hawke’s Bay red blend wears an ‘I’ve been to Bordeaux’ t-shirt but is 100% Kiwi (like Pavlova, right?). It smells of leafy dark fruit, a pencilly oak/fruit aromatic melange (great word that), and this sense of medium, just-rightness.

The 2022 release is overly young and tight, but that just-rightness is undeniable. Unstoppable. Primed for long-term glory. Greatness!

Oh, and the 2021 Te Mata Awatea Cabernet Merlot, poured at a lunch with Te Mata CEO Nick Buck, was a delight too. More than a delight, I’d warmed up in the morning before said Te Mata tasting with a small bracket of Coonawarra Cabernet (a work thing, and wines not in the same calibre) and the Awatea in particular felt like a 13.5% alcohol welcome back present from Cabernet blends…

Now, before we dive into how the wines tasted, a little backstory (if you’re interested; otherwise, skip ahead).

So Te Mata Estate is the oldest vineyard in New Zealand (and the oldest continuously operating winery, only pipped by Mission Estate at the oldest winery), with a history that dates back to the 1890s.

In fact, by 1910, Te Mata was the largest winery in NZ. But the big story at Te Mata starts in the 1980s when the Coleraine vineyard was replanted (on the original vineyard site). Buck calls that first 1982 Coleraine release ‘one of the most famous wines in New Zealand history’, with a showstopping reputation that helped it become an icon (and, at the time, NZ’s most expensive wine).

Intriguingly. That ’82 was the only Coleraine ever to use American oak (because that was only what was available at the time), and it is still a grand wine (or it was in 2018).

Of course, there’s more to Te Mata than just Coleraine, with the estate now spread across vineyards in four Hawke’s Bay sub-regions with 150 hectares under vine. However, only 50,000 cases of wine are typically produced under the winery name, with a significant portion of the fruit sold off, which I found fascinating.

There’s more than just Coleraine in this premium range, too. Let’s have a squizz!

Te Mata Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc with Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. 88 Sauvignon Blanc 7% Sauvignon Gris 5% Semillon. Eleven months in barrel. No malo. lots of solids in the ferment. 1/3rd new oak. ‘One of the most involved wines to make’ according to Buck. 3.32 pH. 13% alcohol.

Interest here, but not instantly seductive. A textured style, and you’d have to dig to find the Sauv character beyond a flash of dried herb pyrazine whisper. Texture and oak are first, followed by white pear and white nectarine stone fruit. It’s subtly ripe, too. There’s some of the 2022 vintage ripe/unripe contrast here too. It is enjoyable, maybe a bit bony on the finish, which ups the oak tannins a bit, but it is plenty of complex wine as a result. 17.7/20, 92/100+.

Te Mata Elston Chardonnay 2022

Spends 11 months in barrel, 75-85% goes through malo. 13% alcohol.

Golden flavours, luscious yellow cream, with a nutty golden nose. It smells evocative, but that doesn’t translate to the palate, which feels compact, drying, and tight. Lean acidity makes for a little disconnect on the palate, but this has layers. A little pawpaw tropical hint in there? Texturally, it plays a great tune. Man, it’s tight, though. 18/20, 93/100.

Te Mata Alma Pinot Noir 2020

The third vintage of this wine, drawn from the Woodthorpe Terraces. pH 3.62. 13.5% alcohol.

A Cabernet makers Pinot. I know that’s mean, but it’s hard to escape. All about firm red fruits – it’s a dense, cask-shaped Pinot, with lines of vanilla, bark, and a little bitterness, too. Impressive concentration, but not seductive – it’s drying even though medium weight; with just a little briary warmth. Will the oak and ripeness overwhelm it? I find this a bit firm for that fruit. Power, though. 17.5/20, 91/100.

Te Mata Bullnose Syrah 2019

No longer just from the Bullnose vineyard. pH 3.54. 13.5% alcohol.

Glossy, richly textured, but savoury and still youthful: lovely unforced style here – brown spice, a contained richness of black cherry fruit, still closed. For that opulent fruit suggestion, it’s so balanced and even. Dark fruit, olives, a line of dark fruit. Just a bit bony on the finish. But just-rightness. 18/20, 93/100.

Te Mata Awatea Cabernets Merlot 2021

Matured for 17 months in barrel. 50 Cabernet Sauvignon 36% Merlot & 14% Franc. Cab Franc is the most variable grape in Hawke’s Bay apparently, and the percentages of each variety change. Incidentally, Awatea is Te Mata’s biggest-selling red wine. Spends less time in new oak compared to Coleraine (50% new oak here compared to 70% for Coleraine). The price is just madness too, given that it’s $40 around the traps. pH 3.53, 13.5% alcohol.

It is such a delicious-smelling wine. Bay leaf, a little mint, beautiful leafy red fruit and very pretty – I would have guessed more Cabernet Franc given the leafy red fruit. it’s a fragrant first red, in mid-weight style, with dried herbs, raspberry, and darkness too, but light and shade. Delightful wine. I just wanted to drink it. Powdery tannins too. Next to the Coleraine, it looks a bit open and easy, but also a shitload more accessible right now (and arguably the better drink in March 2024). Great. 18.7/20, 95/100.

Te Mata Coleraine 2022

The highest Cabernet component in Coleraine since the 1982. 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 3% Cab Franc. Also spends 17 months in barrel. pH 3.65 13.5% TA 6g/L

Closed and densely packed. Backward. Great creamed red fruit texture. But locked up. Cool and purpled, tannins and quite milky oak are the main features. Perfect acidity and lovely leafy elegance. There’s something about how the oak wraps around the palate that reminded me of great Tuscan Cabernet (Ornellaia, Sassicaia et al), Perfection, if unready. There is an agelessness here that is admirable and great. The Awatea is a better drink for today, but Coleraine is the wine of the future. 18.7+