TE MATA ESTATE ALMA PINOT NOIR 2024

For us, this is the surprise package in the 2024 lineup – far from being down the pecking order for Te Mata Reds, this Pinot Noir stands high on its own, and deserves its place in the Showcase lineup – A more structured expression, yes – but wonderfully composed!

The Alma Pinot Noir is a superb new addition to Te Mata Estate's premium range. Long-established masters of Bordeaux style reds, Te Mata have been growing and making Pinot Noir (for export only) for over twenty years. It is only now with some serious vine age and the necessary winemaking experience that they have felt they could release a small parcel of this premium Hawkes Bay Pinot Noir.

Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"Alma celebrates Dr James Thomson, a hero of the 1854 Battle of the Alma during the Crimean War and forefather to Te Mata Estate’s Buck family. Knowing the vanquished enemy soldiers had already contracted cholera, Dr Thomson volunteered to tend to their wounds, saving the lives of over four hundred, and sacrificing his own in the process. The medal he was awarded for this selfless act of valour appears on the label of Alma Pinot Noir.

Alma ’24 presents a captivating cherry red hue with a hint of purple. Its aroma is immediately enticing, featuring redcurrants, strawberries, fresh prunes, and ripe raspberries, complemented by delicate notes of violet, thyme, sage and warming  chai spices. On the palate, the wine’s weight and volume are further enhanced, creating a velvety texture that balances refreshing fruit with powdery tannins. Dark cherries and ripe plums blend seamlessly with liquorice and mulberry, culminating in a long finish of fruit sweetness and spice. A masterpiece of detail and concentration  and irresistibly enjoyable.

The individual lots were each destemmed and given a traditional warm-plunged fermentation. The resulting wines underwent extended maceration on skins before pressing. The separate wines were all run to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barriques for 10 months’ maturation, with 33% being new oak."

5 Stars & 96/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, February 2026 (2024 Vintage)
"This is sweetly fruited and seductively fragrant, revealing ripe cherry, Black Doris plum, smoked game, thyme, olive, and toasted almond characters with an Asian spice undertone. It’s silky- smooth and supple in the mouth, offering a beautifully layered mouthfeel backed by finely infused tannins, making it superbly structured with a sustained, complex finish."

94/100 James Suckling (2024 Vintage)
"Smoky aromas of fresh and dried strawberries with orange peel follow through to a medium- to full-bodied palate. Lightly dry tannins frame the wine beautifully. So savoury. Solid and structured yet highly approachable at the end. Drink or hold."