Te Mata Estate Coleraine 2019

Te Mata Estate was acquired by John Buck in 1974 and the Buck family have been producing Te Mata wines ever since. Coleraine is named after John's family ancestral hometown in Northern Ireland. Coleraine is Te Mata Estate's flagship wine and is regarded by many as New Zealand's finest red wine. First produced in 1982, Coleraine is a classic blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. 

"Destined for a long life, this majestic offering shows cassis, dark plum, hint of tobacco, cedar and floral aromas on the nose. The palate is packed with rich fruit intensity combined with layers of silky texture and complex flavours, wonderfully supported by perfectly pitched chalky tannins, making it sturdy and structured with a seemingly endless finish. Flawless and spellbinding."  Sam Kim

The 2019 Coleraine is a blend of 59% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot & 4% cabernet franc. 

"If the Langton's Classification crossed the Tasman, Te Mata Coleraine would sit alongside Grange at its very pinnacle. Established, esteemed, outstanding – vintage after vintage, the glowing adjectives come thick and fast."  Langtons

"A deep midnight-magenta, Coleraine is symphonic in its harmony and presence. The aromatics are immediately varietal with grace notes of cassis, raspberry leaf, fresh roses, dark chocolate, lifted black cherry, espresso and cedar. The palate deepens the opening theme. There's tapenade, darkest blackberry and ripe plum while underneath, quietly, a precise, profound tannin structure resonates.

Powerful, deep-set, graceful and complex, Coleraine is refined to an exquisite point while still retaining freshness and balance. It lingers after tasting. Layered and composed, resplendent and resolved, a gloriously seductive ensemble celebratory of all that fine New Zealand wine can be."  Te Mata Estate

Bob Campbell MW reviews the Te Mata Estate Coleraine 2019

Expert reviews

"Destined for a long life, this majestic offering shows cassis, dark plum, hint of tobacco, cedar and floral aromas on the nose. The palate is packed with rich fruit intensity combined with layers of silky texture and complex flavours, wonderfully supported by perfectly pitched chalky tannins, making it sturdy and structured with a seemingly endless finish. Flawless and spellbinding. A blend of 59% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot & 4% cabernet franc. At its best: 2029 to 2049."  Sam Kim, Wine Orbit – 100 points

"Made from 59% cabernet sauvignon with merlot and cabernet franc. Ripe, cassis and berry flavours with a seasoning of spice. This wine represents elegance on a grand scale and is on one of the best vintage I've tasted. It has plushness and power with great potential. Drink: 2021-2039."  Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review - 98 points

"59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc from what Te Mata estate describe as a 'fairytale vintage'. Cherry, ripe raspberry, dried roses and tobacco, cocoa and baking spices, a wee bit of menthol. It's medium-bodied, taut and tightly strung with 'mineral' feeling cranberry acidity, sheets of slate-like tannin, superb waft of mouth-perfume, and a firm finish of impeccable length. A whole lot of what you might call 'discreet structure' this year, and feels particularly long-term. Oh Coleraine, you've done it again. Tasted: Feb 2021; Alcohol: 13.5%; Price: $115; Closure: Cork; Drink: 2024-2044+."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 97 points

"Complex and very sophisticated with a calm yet mysterious package of aromas: elegance and finesse, aromas of dark berries and varietal, ripe cabernet, some sweet tobacco, dark olive and barrel spices. Very harmonious already, but lots of youth and palate tension. Big tannins, ripe tannins and acidity to match. Delicious, young, vibrant. Best from 2028 through 2040."  Cameron Douglas MS - 97 points

The story of coleraine

Te Mata Estate was acquired by John Buck in 1974 and the Buck family have been producing Te Mata wines ever since. Coleraine is named after John's family ancestral hometown in Northern Ireland. 

"Coleraine is New Zealand's greatest red wine"  - Sydney Morning Herald

Coleraine is Te Mata Estate's flagship wine and is regarded by many as New Zealand's finest red wine. First produced in 1982, Coleraine is a classic blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc, and displays the concentration, complexity and elegance found in the world's greatest wines. Coleraine showed the world that Hawke's Bay, and indeed New Zealand, was capable of making world class red blends.

Cabernet Sauvignon is nearly always the dominant grape variety but the blend has ranged from 94% Cabernet Sauvignon in 1982 down to just 25% in 2002. The remainder of the blend is predominantly Merlot with, usually, the addition of small amounts of Cabernet Franc.

The earlier vintages of Coleraine from 1982 to 1988 were all single-vineyard blends from the Coleraine vineyard. From 1989 onwards, the wine has been a blend of grapes from across the Te Mata Estate vineyards that were planted in 1982. 

Peter Cowley joined Te Mata as their sole winemaker in 1984, two years after Coleraine's inaugural vintage. He has been responsible for all the subsequent vintages until his retirement in 2019. Peter handed over the reins to now senior winemaker Philip Brodie, who has been part of the Te Mata Estate team since 1992.

"The absolute strength of Bordeaux blends is in different varieties and different soils, and that's where we started. But it is also really about the people that put these wines together, who made them what they are.

Although it might have been inspired by Bordeaux, the thing about Coleraine is that it has really come out of that shadow and it has developed its own voice and style in that time. When you go through 32 years of Coleraine, we are looking at New Zealand history – we are stepping out of the shadow of Bordeaux and taking pride in New Zealand."  Toby Buck, Te Mata Estate

Nick Buck discusses Coleraine

About the winery

Te Mata Estate was established in 1896, specialising in high-quality wines of classical style. The winery remains family owned, producing internationally recognized wines exclusively from its Hawke's Bay vineyards. 

"New Zealand's first growth" - Andy Howard MW, Decanter Magazine
"A national treasure" - Jancis Robinson MW
"New Zealand's greatest winery" - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Te Mata Estate was originally part of Te Mata Station, a large pastoral land-holding established by English immigrant, John Chambers, in 1854. 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 he planted vines on three parcels of hillside land above the homestead and began converting the original stables to ferment and mature the wines. The first vintage wines were released in 1986. Today, Te Mata Estate still uses those same three vineyards. 

The Chambers family sold the property in 1919. The property had two other owners until John and Wendy Buck acquired Te Mata Estate in 1978 and 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. In addition, new vineyard sites were acquired in the Bridge Pa, Gimblett Gravels and Dartmoor Valley sub-regions of Hawke's Bay (refer map below). The Buck family have been producing Te Mata wines ever since. The success of Te Mata's wines in the '80s is credited with sparking the revival of Hawke's Bay as a top wine region.
 

 Te Mata Estate Winery and Hawke's Bay sub-regions