• Meet Selina Tusitala Marsh – New Zealand’s Newest Poet Laureate

    ‘In a role established by Te Mata Estate winery, New Zealand’s latest Poet Laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh has accepted her new post with – what else? – a poem.

    The prestigious two-year post was announced in a surprise ceremony on Friday night at the tail end of the launch of her new poetry collection, Tightrope. Tusitala Marsh gave a nod to her mother, who came to New Zealand from Samoa speaking no English, as well as the recent controversy regarding Labour leader Jacinda Ardern’s pregnancy plans.

    “I accept this award on behalf of Pasifika peoples/whose brown faces/aspire to higher places,” she said.

    Earlier, Tusitala Marsh – an academic and strong advocate for Pasifika poetry and literature – said the role of Laureate was “breath-giving”. She wrote her first poem – about nuclear fallout – at the age of 12. It was published in Grapevine magazine. “I remember walking through Avondale and someone came up to me and said, ‘I loved your poem’,” she said.

    Marsh wrote and performed a poem for the Queen at the Commonwealth Day Observance last year. “At 12 I thought, this was an amazing way to share your thoughts with the world.” Tusitala Marsh is now an associate professor and lectures at the University of Auckland, specialising in Māori and Pacific Literary Studies and Creative Writing.

    She described poetry as “the power of articulation. It’s the power to be able to embody language and connect with other people.” The Waiheke Island-based poet published her first collection, Fast Talking PI, in 2009. In 2010 she won both the NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry, and Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards.

    Each laureate receives $80,000 over two years from the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa to create new work and promote poetry throughout the country. Tusitala Marsh says while she would not do anything “remarkably” different, the award would allow her to take poetry to “some pretty impressive spaces”.

    “I talk about ‘unpoeted’ spaces, where it doesn’t usually have a space or is heard or made,” she said.

    She was also given a carved tokotoko, or orator’s stick, symbolising her authority and status. Tusitala Marsh said the post was a “wonderful opportunity to extend the poetic page and stage to this nation’s multi-coloured, multi-hued voices. “To be recognised in this way is breath-taking. To occupy the role is breath-giving – I can’t wait to take the Laureate’s tokotoko to the people and make poetry.”

    New Zealand’s first poet Laureate was Bill Manhire in 1996 and the outgoing Laureate for 2015-17 is C.K Stead.’

  • Decanter UK names Te Mata Coleraine ’98 New Zealand’s First ‘Wine Legend’

    Coleraine ’98 has been named a ‘Wine Legend’ in the August Issue of UK’s top wine magazine Decanter, placing it amongst other wines more than ten times its price.

    Garnering immediate international praise, Coleraine ’98 was available for $75 at release and today sells for more than $250. Previous Decanter Wine Legends include Domaine de la Romanée-Conti ’78 ($6,500), Château Haut-Brion ’29 ($3,500), Château Lafite-Rothschild ’59 ($3,300) and Ridge Monte Bello ’70 ($1,200).

    Describing Coleraine as ‘the most avidly collected of New Zealand red wines’, Decanter’s piece has already prompted feedback to the winery from Coleraine fans worldwide. (See attached.) Te Mata Estate’s Nick Buck commented:

    “This is lovely recognition for Coleraine and for Coleraine collectors everywhere. I’m sure they’ll love knowing they’ve got such great wine in their cellar. Of even greater importance to us is the connection that it gives them, back to the unique people and place that produces such an outstanding wine.”

    In 2016, Decanter’s Master of Wine Andy Howard described Te Mata Estate as ‘New Zealand’s First Growth’, putting the winery on par with the world’s top French wine producers:

    ‘Many critics consider Coleraine up there with the best Bordeaux blends in the world. The original intention may have been to mirror the top Cru Classé but, today, Coleraine has evolved its own style.’

    Te Mata Coleraine ’13, ’14 and ’15 have all sold out from the winery within weeks of their release. Te Mata’s Coleraine, as well as its Bullnose Syrah, were both listed in the TOP 50 WINES OF THE WORLD by US wine critic James Suckling. Demand for recent vintages has soared.

    Coleraine ’16 – marking 120 years of winemaking at Te Mata Estate – is available on 1 March 2018.

    Read the full PDF here…

  • ‘New Zealand’s Greatest Red Wine’

    ‘Te Mata Coleraine from Hawke’s Bay is in my opinion New Zealand’s greatest red wine. It is a tribute to the foresight of John Buck and his partners in creating the wine, and to the superlative work of winemaker Peter Cowley and the viticultural team led by Larry Morgan who have provided a wine that is internationally recognised as one of the very best from the country for over three decades.  There are other wines that come close; in the Bordeaux-style, Stonyridge ‘Larose’ is a contender, but doesn’t quite have the length of time of production, or the amount of wine made.  There are some superb Pinot Noirs, but that is like comparing apples with oranges, and again, the length of track record of the top wines, Ata Rangi and Felton Pinot Noir does not measure up.  Objectively one must say Coleraine is a stand-out.

    I’ve been a follower of Te Mata ‘Coleraine’ from the beginning, purchasing most vintages, including the pre-cursor Te Mata Cabernet Sauvignon 1981 (but I missed out on the first 1980).  I slowed down my buying of ‘Coleraine’ once I joined the wine trade, but have always been interested in the developments and evolution, participating and in fact organising promotional events at the retail outlets I was working at, in conjunction with Te Mata and their distributors.  It allowed an intimacy with the wine, the Buck family (John, Wendy, Nick and Toby Buck) and the Te Mata team few have enjoyed.  I worked vintage at Te Mata Estate for the 1991 vintage with the indominatable José Hernandez, my boss at the time.  And I’ve been lucky to be involved in various vertical tastings of ‘Coleraine’, in particular the 25th Anniversary Tasting held in Napier on 3 May 2008, where 250 guests and 25 staff tasted the wines from the inaugural 1982 to the then current release 2006.  Both my partner Sue Davies and I were pleased to help in a small way with the logistics of preparing the wines and pouring them….’

  • 2017 ‘Fast and Furious’

    2017 was a year when the Te Mata team and the Te Mata method of production made all the difference.  Hand-picking and hand-sorting, and careful vineyard management shone through and delivered fruit in remarkable condition.  Thanks to our team’s outstanding efforts, many long hours, and a fast and furious harvest, we’ve ended up with a lot to look forward to.

    Read the technical report from Senior Winemaker Peter Cowley here

  • Coleraine Leads the Way for Air New Zealand’s ‘Fine Wines of New Zealand’

    Te Mata Estate is pleased to announce Coleraine and Bullnose Syrah as two of the first picks for Air New Zealand’s new ‘Fine Wines of New Zealand’ programme.

    Six of the nation’s leading independent wine experts, on behalf of Air New Zealand, have named their official ‘Fine Wines of New Zealand’; a list of the country’s most prestigious fine wines that will lead the airline’s upcoming global promotion of New Zealand wine and wine regions.

    One of the key criteria for the list was consistency, with a chosen wine having to show an exceptional standard over a minimum of five consecutive years. As part of their 2016 tasting, Air New Zealand bought a thirty-year consecutive vertical of Te Mata Estate’s Coleraine at auction. This Coleraine vertical was tasted with their panel to benchmark both the quality of fine New Zealand wine and its ability to evolve and develop over time.

    Nick Buck, Te Mata Estate CEO commented:
    “Te Mata’s Coleraine and Bullnose continue to be recognized at the forefront of New Zealand wine, and we look forward to partnering with Air New Zealand in taking New Zealand’s greatest wines to the world.”

    The ‘Fine Wines of New Zealand’ selection will start to feature in Air New Zealand Business Premier cabins from September.

  • A Premium Wine Region on the World Stage

    ‘With the release of the ’13 vintage virtually complete, and the ‘14s just commencing, Hawke’s Bay has wine generated new levels of respect from critics and consumers worldwide.

    There’s almost a ‘gee, this region really does cut it’ feeling emerging as people sense they are discovering something for the first time.

    Peter Cowley and I were casually chatting about this new, but consistent, commentary the other day, and we got onto attempting to quantify the reasons it is so.  And while the reasons to us were self-evident, it did occur to us that to most they were not; and those same reasons in totality describe a very unique region which possesses natural advantages that would be envied by winemakers elsewhere.

    In defence of the critics and consumers, it has to be said that Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand has come relatively late to the correct planting material and knowledge of local variations in site and aspect to fully exploit the region’s potential, but that has happened and the resultant wines are now winning friends.

    Hawke’s Bay has predominately alluvial soils;  terraces created by retreating rivers and glaciers and a plain formed by soil and stones carried toward the Pacific Ocean by its three main rivers, that come from different directions but meet the sea only four kilometres apart.  As New Zealand is mountainous, they fall quickly and turbulently.

    The north facing slopes contain soils with ash high in silica, potassium and sodium from the eruptions that formed Lake Taupo 26,500 years ago, in the world’s largest known eruption in the past 70,000 years.  Seismic forces have created ridges and contours and undulating pockets.  So, the landform is without parallel but has something a bit in common with Washington State;  not Bordeaux, not Burgundy, not Coonawarra, but uniquely Hawke’s Bay.

    One factor, that is not generally known, is that the ultra violet light levels are very high;  some claim the highest in the world.  Together with the general breeziness of New Zealand, we have two natural elements that keep our grapes at naturally diminished levels of rot and mould, so minimising the need to use sprays.

    Hawke’s Bay lies on the East Coast of the North Island at the same latitude south as Valencia or Northern Sonoma are north – 39 degrees – and has the advantage of being in the lee of the prevailing west-to-east wind flows that characterise New Zealand and which ensure the east is relatively drier than the west.  While degree-day accumulation, rainfall and the like are measures of climate, a further feature of Hawke’s Bay is its highly varied topography that ensures that it is the specific grape growing sites that matter, rather than a bland, one‑size‑fits all approach; again a natural advantage of the best grape growing regions where pockets, slopes, aspects, water permeability and so on all come into play.  It is this feature that enables Hawke’s Bay to grow such a range of varieties and to vinify them in different styles.

    The growing season is also characterised by warm summers tempered by proximity to the Pacific Ocean and crisp, clear, short winters, so that budburst is early in the season and there is ample ability to hang fruit until late, so that maximum flavour development is possible, without the need to add sugar, or to add or subtract from the acid levels that ensure the ability of Hawke’s Bay wines to develop in the bottle.

    The region sits over an underground aquifer that is re-charged by snow melt.  Water takes 20 years to flow across it.  In addition, there is no prescriptive regime for vineyard practices such as AOC in France.  Therefore the choice of variety is down to the vineyard owner, as is the use of one of the best tools in maintaining grape quality – that of deficit irrigation which ensures balanced ripening and managed stress through until final harvest.

    Almost all of the region’s vineyards and wineries are sustainably accredited – an official accreditation subject to annual audit that ensures best practice is followed in all facets of grape growing and winemaking with separate vineyards and individual wineries each requiring their own certification.  In addition, the major territorial authority in the grape growing areas, the Hastings District Council, is officially GE free, ie genetically engineered crops are not permitted within its boundaries, so giving further reassurance to consumers as to the integrity of the land-based product of the district. In our chats, Peter and I concluded that no other grape growing region ticked all the boxes the way Hawke’s Bay does.  Between us we are familiar with most of them and can research those we don’t know.  And all these natural qualities give rise to the style of wines that Hawke’s Bay is gaining international renown for;  wines with bright, ripe, fresh fruit flavours and aromas, reds with great colour and delicious fine tannin, and styles that, along with all the great classics, improve markedly when cellared.

    We think Hawke’s Bay can fairly demonstrate that, using modern criteria, it is the best naturally equipped region in the world in which to grow quality grapes.

    Hawke’s Bay wines are getting better; the rate of improvement is quite remarkable and is faster than in more traditional areas.’

    – 23/03/2016 

  • Bespoke Bottling & Large Formats

    For each vintage Te Mata Estate makes available a small selection of Coleraine in bespoke bottles. Prices are available on request but stocks are very limited. If you’re thinking of a unique gift for a very special occasion we recommend confirming availability as early as possible.

    • 1.5L Magnum
    • 3L Jereboam 
    • 6L Methuselah 
    • 9L Salmanazar
    • 12L Balthazar
    • 15L Nebuchadnezzar

    Shipping is $9 within the North Island and $12 to the South, fully insured. An order will  take us two days to wax seal and hand label. Contact [email protected] for details.

  • New Year’s Honours for Coleraine – ‘New Zealand’s Most Famous Red Wine’

    The Coleraine latest release, from the sensational 2013 vintage, has been lauded as the best ever by the world’s top critics.

    New Zealand’s Sam Kim of WineOrbit.com, described Coleraine ’13 as ‘Perfection’ awarding it the maximum 100 Points. Masters of Wine Rebecca Gibb and Bob Campbell both declared Coleraine among their ‘Top Wines of 2015’. In naming Coleraine his favourite 2015 wine (in UK magazine Decanter), Bob Campbell said:

    ‘When Coleraine was first made in 1982, it was light years ahead of any New Zealand red wine produced before that date. It has since become the country’s most iconic wine label.’

    International wine critics have followed suit. Nick Stock, writing for JamesSuckling.com USA, praised Coleraine ’13 in his global ‘Top 100 Wines of 2015’. And, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW – editor for RobertParker.com – also named Coleraine ’13 in her three ‘Best New Zealand Wines of 2015’. No wonder Coleraine ‘13 sold out from the winery in just ten days.

  • 2016 ‘The Turnaround’

    We couldn’t be happier with the fruit quality in 2016. The turnaround produced whites that look fresh and vibrant – showing full, ripe flavours and excellent acid balance. Reds appear plump, fruity, and with good levels of ripe tannins. Again, the reds have that depth of colour we’ve seen develop in the last three years, and the 2016 cabernet and merlot look especially promising.

    Read the technical report from Senior Winemaker Peter Cowley here...