Given Hawkes Bay’s hottest summer in a decade, and its driest for 30 years, 2009 was a nigh-on perfect growing season for cabernet sauvignon. With the noted input of vines of over 20 years of age, Coleraine ’09 is ‘the wine of a lifetime’.

Te Mata Estate believes Coleraine ’09 is the greatest Coleraine yet, surpassing the stellar ’05 and ’07. Decide for yourself at Te Mata Estate’s Showcase, where both vintages will be tasted alongside the new release Coleraine ’09.

THE DIVINE NINES
For the first time in Te Mata Estate’s history, Coleraine and Awatea ’09 have been reviewed prior to release. In October 2010, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate said Te Mata Estate “has fashioned a clutch a stunning wines in both 2008 and 2009” and declared Coleraine and Awatea ‘09, “bona fide classics in the making”.

Sales of Awatea continue to gain momentum. The ’07 vintage sold out in eight months, the ’08 did the same. To honour our long time friend, Auckland wine trade personality José Hernandez, we released an early José-dedicated bottling. Now, Awatea ’09 under our regular label is back.

“The 2009 could turn out to be a spectacular Awatea. There is already so much character and charm here.” Robert Parker’s Advocate, October 2010.

Along with Elston, Zara and Bullnose ’09, Te Mata Estate’s Showcase 2011 will also feature the new release Cape Crest ’10.

PERFECT TEN
The rise in popularity of barrel fermented sauvignon blanc continues to introduce new fans to ‘the original’, Te Mata Estate’s Cape Crest. The 2010 vintage has produced an exceptional Cape Crest, showing ripe nectarine and strawberry flavours, with mineral notes to its long complex finish. A perfect ten.

Coleraine2009 – The Wine of a Lifetime!
“When we chose to move to Hawkes Bay, we did so because we thought it was the region with the best prospects for making blended red wines – modern clarets – to a competitive international standard.

We purchased Te Mata Estate in 1974, 37 years ago, because it owned vineyards with north facing slopes rather than flat land, and because we believed that these aspects, in common with most of the best vineyards in the world, give an aromatic intensity and style, natural reduction in vigour, and quality of tannins that are fundamental elements of quality.

What a ride it has been! From the first vintage of Coleraine in 1982, to the upcoming release of the ’09, we’ve had to deal with all the usual factors that get in the way. The weather, the farming lobbies that didn’t want grapes grown in Hawkes Bay, wine fashion, doctrinal bureaucracy, and occasionally our own wavering self-confidence.

Despite all this, our customers have remained our greatest believers in us and have kept us going. So well, in fact, that this March we launch the best wine we have ever made, Coleraine ’09. If, to date, Coleraine has been recognised as being of second growth quality, the ’09 begs the question as to the level we have now reached.

Coleraine ’09 is the wine that proves to us that our early hopes were not in vain, we were right, and that, yet again, we are raising the bar for ourselves.

We hope you agree.” - John Buck

For The Tasting
On Arrival

• Cape Crest ’10
• Zara ’09
• Elston ’09
• Bullnose ’09

Formal Tasting
Odds On

• Awatea ’05
• Awatea ’07
• Awatea ’09
• Coleraine ’05
• Coleraine ’07
• Coleraine ’09

Tickets $30.00
Available at Vino Fino

Tasting Tuesday 8th February 2011

New Releases featuring Dog Point

Crater Rim From The Ashes Waipara Riesling 2010
A delicious way to begin the tasting with this light refreshing Riesling. Low alcohol (8.5%) and noticeable sweetness, this is a fantastic aperitif style, which is best served well chilled.
Special price $15.99

Huia Gewurztraminer 2008
Huia are a relatively small Marlborough producer whose focus is definitely on quality. They are one of the five wineries in Marlborough’s MANA group (Fromm, Herzog, Huia, Seresin and Te Whare Ra) These wineries share key elements of one vineyards, wineries, wine making teams and organic practises. Huia’s Gewurztraminer has always been one of their strengths, so it must have been a blow to this winery when a substantial off-shore order was cancelled and hence the current special offering in the local market.
A dry style (only 2gms residual sugar) with a portion barrel femented. Aromas of spice and apricot with quite a textural slightly oily palate. Quite Alsatian in style.
Super Special $14.99

Dog Point Wines
Ivan Sutherland and James Healy of Dog Point had to change plans and unfortunately unable to be here this week to show their new release wines, but we have to say the wines really spoke for themselves. The three 2009 vintage new releases are simply outstanding. Dog Point focus on vineyard fruit quality with much intensive work on the vines with much lower yields than the norm

Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Served after the Huia Gewurz, I thought this may have been overpowered, but I need not have worried. This is an intensely concentrated dry Sauvignon with an edgy minerality component. One of the top Sauvignons from 2010.
Special price $20.99

Dog Point Section 94 2009
James Healy has been refining this style of barrel aged Sauvignon Blanc since ‘creating’ Te Koko during his Cloudy Bay days. Past vintages have shown quite a degree of ‘funk’. This has been toned down quite a lot with the 2009, which displays much more Sauvignon Blanc fruit character than has been evident in the past. Beyond the fruit, there is a depth of wine making influenced flavours and structure.
Special price $32.99

Dog Point Chardonnay 2009
Again, like the Section 94, this is much less funky than previous releases. A beautiful Chardonnay with fine texture, minerality, ripe fig and nut flavours.
Special price $32.99

Dog Point Pinot Noir 2009
This is a star wine. Beautifully and subtly layered with floral, plum, sweet spice, savouriness…. The wine has the classic peacock’s tail effect on the palate with the flavours unfolding on the palate. An early contender for our Pinot Noir of the year. Special price $43.99

Mission Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2009
We haven’t had many Mission reds in recent times, so is was good to reacquaint ourselves with a wine like this. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 45%, Merlot 40.5%,
Cabernet Franc 14.5%. Obviously from a very good vintage, this is very youthful from the dark colour to the big palate. Ripe Cabernet flavours come through with chalky, mouth-coating tannins. Give this another couple of years to see its best. For $20.00 this is very good quality
Special price $19.99

The final 2 wines are new labels from Rosemount. These replace the old Show Reserve labels with the “fruit sourced from older vineyards that show strong regional and varietal characters. These wines aim to reveal ‘terroir’.”

Rosemount District Release McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008
As Paul said, this is more in the ‘bear-hug’ style than cuddly. There is the usual softness but alongside this is a sense of grip and pull. Certainly above average quality.
Special price $19.99

Rosemount District Release Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
2009 vintage in Coonawarra being regarded as one of the best – alongside the likes of 1996, 1990. And judging by this wine, I couldn’t disagree. Dark, with blueberry, chocolate, blackberry flavours. Big with chewy tannins but balanced – it is just a young wine. Excellent wine.
Special price $19.99

An innovative promotion of the Riesling grape is taking place this year. The 2010 vintage Riesling grapes come from one vineyard and the 12 wine makers involved are able to produce a Riesling wine of any style from those grapes.

Twelve renowned Riesling wine-makers are taking part, which is a first in terms of providing a means of establishing the extent to which the wine-maker’s individual skills can sculpt a given – and matching – batch of grapes into a world class wine.

The New Zealand Riesling Challenge is also an opportunity to show-case this most versatile of grapes to consumers and media…..and it is intended to be a lot of competitive fun to boot!

The wine-makers are:

Ant McKenzie,  Te Awa Wines

Larry McKenna, Escarpment

Mike Brown, Waimea Estate

Paul Bourgeois, Spy Valley

Jules Taylor, Jules Taylor Wines

John Forrest,  Forrest Estate

Simon Waghorn, Astrolabe Wines

Jeff Clarke, Pernod Ricard NZ

Simon McGeorge, Waipara Hills

Matt Donaldson, Pegasus Bay

Brendan Seal, Mount Edward

Matt Dicey, Mount Difficulty

Hand harvested Riesling grapes from Mud House’s Waipara vineyards were provided to each competitor.  Each of the competitors got every tenth bin i.e. everyone got the same batch of grapes, picked on the same day!

There were no specific rules in relation to wine-making, except that all wines produced as part of the New Zealand Riesling Challenge must be made – and recorded – strictly in accordance with all export certification rules applying to the vintage.
The finished wines will be labelled with each winemaker’s signature on the Riesling Challenge label and packaged in 12 bottle cartons containing one bottle of each of the individual winemakers Rieslings

The Rieslings will be judged by a panel with the winner being announced on 19^th December.