Limited Selections

Showcase Wines

Estate Wines

  • 2021 – The One

    By

    An historically early vintage that was warm and dry produced low crops with tiny berries, creating exceptional wines with fragrance, tension, purity, power, and persistence… these are so appealing, the tricky part will be having the patience to enjoy them at their peak!


    Winter – Spring
    Winter was the warmest on record in New Zealand, and very dry. This led to the earliest budburst in
    Te Mata’s history. Thankfully, we received a large volume of rain in the early part of spring that gave
    us the ability to recharge our soils and grow a healthy, full canopy. From there on, we received very
    little in terms of significant rain events and, soon after flowering, we began to see blocks experience
    mild levels of water stress. Following recent drought years, we knew to start increasing irrigation to
    allow the vines to combat heat spikes in late December and January.


    Summer – Autumn
    December to early February saw average heat accumulation with slightly below average
    temperatures. There was very little rain over these months, giving clean canopies, clean fruit,
    controlled vine stress, and very small berries on both whites and reds. These factors built on the
    early budburst to produce an early harvest with good sugars and acids.


    Harvest
    Harvesting continued with classical daytime temperatures in very dry conditions, combining with
    tiny berries to produce significantly lower yields, both in cropping rates and juice. As a result, the
    whites showed great intensity and tension, with wonderful natural acidity, and the reds are deeply
    coloured with plenty of extract and purity.


    Conclusions – Notes of significance

    • A very dry preceding winter
    • The earliest budburst in Te Mata’s history
    • Early onset of vine stress
    • Above average heat summation (GDD Growing Degree Days)
    • A tapering of GDD over late January early February led to retention of acids, contributing
    to the wines’ varietal expression, balance and wonderful length
    • Exceptionally clean fruit with no disease pressure
    • The earliest ever start to harvest at Te Mata Estate
    • Very low crops with tiny berries and great concentration
    • White wines – acid retention, pure with intense complexity
    • Red wines – deeply coloured, complex and structured

     

     

    Download the Technical Report from Te Mata’s Senior Winemaker Phil Brodie here…

     

  • The Cellar Door, Channel 31

    By

    See the 2020 Vintage and meet winemaker Phil and CEO Nick Buck in the latest episode of The Cellar Door. Screened in Australia last week. (Thanks Georgie and Shane for organising.) First wine of 2020 out now at www.temata.co.nz.

  • ‘A Reason to Toast 2020!’

    By

    The start of a new decade in Hawke’s Bay brings momentous promise this vintage … With a hot and dry season, the entire region basked in optimum sunshine hours this summer, from the inland alluvial plains all the way to the coast, blessing Hawke’s Bay’s winemakers with pristine-condition fruit.

    ‘BayBuzz asked Nick Buck, chief executive of Te Mata Estate, a perennial producer of some of HB’s best, what all the fuss is about.’

    Says Nick: “’18, ’19, and ’20 have been amazing. We thought ’19 was amongst the best vintages we’ve seen, then along came ’20, and we’re blown away by the quality. The ‘20s are the most concentrated wines we’ve seen in the 46 years my family’s run Te Mata. It’s hard to pick a stand out variety as the quality is so strong across the board.”

    Locally, online sales have held up for Te Mata Estate during the Covid window. “Te Mata always has strong direct sales as a lot of people prefer to deal directly for their fine wines. But, we’ve seen a huge upswing over the lockdown period. It’s been fantastic to see all the local support, and we’ve been thrilled to be able respond to that, getting great wine direct to people’s homes and businesses. My brother Toby’s doing a lot of the Hawke’s Bay deliveries and enjoying the chance to help people out.”

    Te Mata Estate has always done well overseas, especially in Australia, the UK and China, and we asked about that. Nick commented:

    “The quality from the spectacular run of great vintages — ’18, ’19 and now ’20 — means that we’ve got the best wines we’ve ever made to take to market. NZ wine exports have remained very strong through lockdown, but we’re seeing marked buying shifts with booming retail alongside very suppressed hospitality. It’s impossible to say how deep and long these effects will be.”

    A reason to toast 2020!

  • The Te Mata Character Zone – 25 Years of New Zealand’s First Wine Appellation

    By

    In 1996 the significance and viticultural heritage of Te Mata Estate and its vineyards was officially recognized in a unique piece of New Zealand legislation. The ‘Te Mata Special Character Zone’ was formed to commemorate the ‘special ambience, wine making history and micro-climate’ of the area. This certification recognized our vineyards – established in the nineteenth century –  and their heritage value, as New Zealand’s first wine appellation.

    It was due to the efforts of the Chamber’s, Buck, Morris and Cowley families, that the potential of this land will noe be protected and preserved for future generations.

    For an overview of the area, check out Tim Whittakers 360 degree panorama here

0
Your Cart