Wine of the week
Fresh from a tasting of Te Mata wines, Timothy Giles has recommendations for collectors and quaffers alike.
28 February 2025
Te Mata Estate Coleraine 23
In 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle devastated Hawke’s Bay. Vineyards were permanently destroyed and many wineries lost much, even all, of their grapes. In this toughest of years, Te Mata’s flagship Coleraine shines.
It is supple and concentrated. A well-packed suitcase of dark berry fruit in fragrant petals and subtly leathered spice. Equipped for a long journey with layers to gradually unpack. Usually a blend, the 23 is overwhelmingly Cabernet Sauvignon, capturing it’s power to endure with lively acid to be drink deftly, right now.
I am a dedicated follower of Awatea, Te Mata’s second-tier Bordeaux blend, made up of wine that does not make Coleraine’s exacting standards.
But in 2023 a maxim of wine investment proves true. "In good years, buy lower tiers, in tough times buy the top wines." This release of Coleraine, shows its true and enduring value. I hope Hawke’s Bay will never again face a year as tough as 2023. I know that this wine will help erase that memory.
RRP $175 per bottle; six pack $897.
Te Mata Estate Gamay Noir ’24
Te Mata Estate boasts famous names, like Elston Chardonnay and Bullnose Syrah. Wines that for decades have been enthusiastically collected. But may I turn your attention please towards their more whimsically natured, soft, summer red? Gamay Noir.
It is playful, an uplifting pirouette of boysenberry bubble-gum, fleshy, white nectarine and fragrant field-flowers.
Harvest 2025 is already underway, autumn looms. So let’s enjoy summer while it lasts and ensure that any stocks of this, do not.
RRP $29.95 at most wine retailers.
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