Te Mata Estate Awatea Cabernets Merlot 2019
$44.99
SPECIAL BUY 6 or more. Beautiful Cab Merlot Cab Franc Blend. 95 points “Seriously good and very accessible red that offers great value at this price.” Bob Campbell
Description
Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognized wines exclusively from its Hawke’s Bay vineyards. The Estate’s ownership varied frequently until John and Wendy Buck acquired it in 1978. John and Wendy 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, as well as the acquisition of new vineyard sites.
The range of temperature and soil types, allied with the rainfall band between 650-850mm, create conditions to produce high quality wines of a classic range akin to those of coastal, central and northern France. Te Mata wines are similar in weight and balance but with unique lifted floral and fruit aromas.
Te Mata winery has been ranked ‘Top Winery in New Zealand’ evidenced by the consistent quality of the Coleraine and Awatea Cabernet Merlot wines, the Bull Nose Syrah and the Elston Chardonnay.
Awatea takes its name from the historic ship SS Awatea (a Maori word meaning “Eye of the Dawn”) that sailed the Auckland – Sydney – Wellington route in the late 1930s. The Awatea was requisitioned as a troop transport in WWII and was sunk off Algeria in 1942.
First made in 1982, Awatea continues to represent the best of the classic Hawke’s Bay Cabernet/Merlot blend. Floral aromas with intense blackberry, currant and dark plum flavours lead to a rich, supple palate with a sustained finish.
The 2019 Awatea blend is 46% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot, 22% cabernet franc. The separate parcels of grapes were destemmed before a traditional warm, plunged fermentation and extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were then run to new and seasoned French oak barrels for 15 months’ ageing. Throughout this time, they were regularly topped and racked. The separate wines were blended in January 2020, then returned to barrel for their second winter. The finished wine was then egg white fined and bottled in November 2020..
Edged with a brilliant crimson, Awatea Cabernets/Merlot ’19 has a rich magenta core, with dark plum, blackberry, and lush black cherry forming the deep heart of this wine. There’s grace notes of cola and cassis, bay leaf, lavender, and tapenade. Ripe acid and long tannins give a layered richness that builds in length and texture. The classic aromas of the best vintages are already present, the hallmark of age-ability. Awatea Cabernets/Merlot ’19 is a resplendent vintage, and full of appeal.
96 Points, Cam Douglas MS “Very youthful and concentrated with dark berries and clove vanilla oak, smoky and forward, varietal and urgent. Great wine – young and needs time, but has power and muscle I have not really noticed before. Spicy plums and dark berries, black berry and black currant. Firm tannins and acidity, youthful, focused, high energy and very exciting. Best drinking from 2022 through 2028+”
95 points, Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review “A dense, lush red with cassis, ripe berry and cedar wood flavours. Seriously good and very accessible red that offers great value at this price.”
95 points, Gary Walsh, The Real Review “Blackcurrant, raspberry leaf, spice and perfume, dark chocolate and black tea. Medium-bodied, dense, firm and concentrated, a subtle herbal fragrance through red and black fruits, with an umami edge of black olive tapenade, a distinct ‘mineral’ ironstone feel to it, crisp raspberry acidity and flavour, a tight mesh of fine chalky tannin to close out a long bright finish. Wonderful.”
RRP $56 *Our Special Price $44.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine**
Additional information
Producer | Te Mata |
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Region or Country | Hawkes Bay, New Zealand |
Variety | Cabernet Blend, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot |
Vintage | 2019 |
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