This distinguished Cabernet Merlot is made from ultra-premium grapes (73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc) grown on low-yielding vines in the Mere Road Vineyard, situated in the celebrated stony soils of the Gimblett Gravels district in Hawkes Bay. Medium to full bodied, it bursts with notes of black fruits, plum, chocolate, and liquorice intertwined with beautifully refined tannins, yielding a distinguished silky smooth wine.

Coleraine derives its name from the Coleraine vineyard, home of John and Wendy Buck of Te Mata Estate. John’s late grandfather was born in Coleraine in Northern Ireland and the name has been maintained through the family home to the wine. Originally a single vineyard wine, from 1989 Coleraine has been an assemblage of the finest wines produced from distinct plots within Te Mata Estate’s oldest vineyards on the Havelock Hills.

Te Mata have dubbed the 2023 Coleraine 'The Return of The King'.
In the realm of fine wine, Coleraine is Te Mata’s crowning jewel – a cabernet sauvignon that embodies the essence of the variety’s title: The King of Grapes. 

The latest vintage, the illustrious 2023, reigns supreme with a level of expression and finesse as robust as its lineage.  A stately example of coastal cabernet, the 

Coleraine ’23 harmonizes intricate varietal notes with an elegant structure  and a power that feels both balanced and commanding. At its core lies the indomitable characteristics of cabernet –  the grape upon which Coleraine’s reign has always been built.

Te Mata’s cabernet collection, sourced from seven noble selections across 24 vineyard parcels, is majestic in the  Coleraine ’23 blend, commanding a regal 80% of the composition. Joined by 15% merlot and a touch of  5% cabernet franc, this royal assembly reflects the multitude of soil types and vineyard sites that define our  sub-regions. Coleraine is New Zealand’s greatest red wine – a true returning king in every sense.

Stone Paddock is a fleshy, dry, full bodied red, modelled on the best from Bordeaux. The blend is Merlot 73%, Cabernet Franc 14%, Cabernet Sauvignon 7.5% and Malbec 5% and is a prime example of great red wine made from the stony soils of Hawke’s Bay. Highly scented plum, blackberry and cassis aromas with hints of five spice, cedar and fine spicy oak. Dark fruit flavours of plum and blackberries are accentuated by lifted ripe aromas of spice and a beautifully balanced tannic structure. 

100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Cornerstone Vineyard

It’s all in the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Aromas of wild dark berry fruits, crushed autumn leaves dark and integrated oak. This characterful wine has intense blackcurrant with power and long graphie tannins. The quintessential ‘iron fist in a silk glove’.

Hugo, my brother, is a talented artist and is always ready to lend a hand with Chateau Garage. His silhouette appeared in the driveway at 10 o’clock at night to help press the last of this Cabernet to barrel. I was exhausted from pressing all day and he got me through. Here’s to Hugo!

Vineyard Sites - Cornerstone Vineyard lies at the heart of the renowned Gimblett Gravels viticultural region, strategically positioned at the junction of Gimblett Road and State Highway 50 in Hawke’s Bay. This area is celebrated as New Zealand’s premier Bordeaux red grape-growing region, and it’s easy to see why. The vineyard’s unique terroir, composed of riverbed stones and gravels, challenges the vines, leading them to produce a limited yield of small, intensely coloured, and flavourful berries. The resulting grapes give rise to wines with rich, mouth-filling tannins and a depth of character that speaks to the harsh yet rewarding growing conditions. 

Vinification - The grapes were carefully handpicked, then crushed and fermented in small 3-tonne open fermenters. Each batch was hand-plunged and allowed varying periods of post-ferment skin contact to enhance complexity and structure. After pressing off, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation and was aged in a mix of French (90%) and American (10%) oak barriques, adding subtle layers of flavour and depth. 

Tasting Notes - Enticing aromas of freshly sanded wood, new leather, anise, and spice draw you in. On the palate, sweet dark red fruits, plums, and berry pie flavours shine through. Grippy, robust, dry tannins balance a smooth, sweet, slightly charry oak profile. This wine is drinking well now but will develop even more complexity with ageing.

In exceptional vintages we occasionally find special pockets of grapes destined for the Basket Press. The resultant wine is the pinnacle of our wine making. Intense purple, red rimmed with a palate of multi -layered fruit, a heady mix of leather, tar, mint cassis and plum held together with fine grained tannins and spicy oak.

Comes in wooden gift box.

This Cabernet Malbec is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. The varieties were hand-picked, de-stemmed and fermented separately in small open topped vats where they were gently hand plunged and pumped over to aid in extracting the maximum amount of flavour and colour from the berries. Following an extended maceration period the wine was transferred into French oak barrels where it spent 11 months.

This is a dark and brooding beast with fruits of the forest including Black Doris plum and spiced cherry. It is rich and powerful on the palate with a silky mouthfeel and well-pitched tannins. Attractively rounded with upfront fruit flavours this wine is very attractive now but will certainly reward with time in the cellar. Drink now through till 2030.

Hieronymus is a blend of grapes and of vineyards and is composed of 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 12% Malbec and 8% Tempranillo with 58% from the Gimblett Gimblett and 42% from the Bridge Pa Triangle.

Grapes were harvested in three separate hand picked lots and fermented separately in oak cuves, then drained to barrel without pressing. The wine was aged for 26 months in 50% new French oak.

The wine's name pays homage to an ancestor of the winery's owners, the Weiss family.

Classical Hawke's Bay take on Bordeaux using 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot, 7% Melbec

A complex aroma of berry fruits, spice, cassis, cedar and cigarbox notes, complemented by fine oak.

Sweet rounded berry-fruit flavours of blackberry and wild brambles, mocha, spice, savoury olive notes and fine oak tannin. This wine shows a complex bouquet, silken texture and firm structure. 

The long awaited vintage 2022 Coleraine harnesses the energy and complexity of Te Mata Cabernet Sauvignon, on show at its highest level since the first Coleraine in 1982.

Beautiful floral aromas of lavender, violet, plum and blackcurrant, are all in orbit around the wine’s dark savoury core of tightly wound graphite, nori, coffee grounds, vanilla and tobacco.  The palate is intensely concentrated, with a superbright tension building freshness and precision as layer upon layer of fine polished tannins give pinpoint detail alongside signature, exacting, levels of finesse.

Coleraine '22 is a modern reprise of what makes Coleraine iconic, a wine balancing past and future, heritage and innovation. This is a statement wine, one that lingers both on the palate and in the mind.

 

Coleraine is the flagship wine of Te Mata Estate in Hawke’s Bay and is one of New Zealand’s most highly collectible and highly valued red wines. It was first made in 1989 as a single vineyard wine and has since forged a reputation for its long term ageability and great quality as a blend from valued vineyards in the hills of Havelock. This area is historically important in the New Zealand wine industry because it is home to some of the country's first grapevines ever planted in 1892. 

Coleraine vineyards    

The 2019 Coleraine was made from hand harvested grapes grown on several vineyards owned by Te Mata Estate, which were picked between 26 March and 10 April 2019.                                                                                                      

Each individual pick of grapes was destemmed before being given a traditional warm, plunged fermentation followed by extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were then pressed mostly to new French oak barrels for 16 months of maturation with regular topping and racked. The blend was made in January 2020 and the finished wine was bottled in December 2020. 

Coleraine blend

Change is the only constant in Coleraine, which varies each year in terms of exact percentages of each grape variety used in the wine. It is always a blend of red grapes which traditionally come from Bordeaux in south west France. These varieties also do well in Hawke's Bay hot dry summer climate where balance is provided by the region's cool nights. 

The 2019 Coleraine is 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc.                                                                                            

History of the wine and the name... Coleraine
The name Coleraine comes from the Coleraine vineyard situated on the land which is home of John and Wendy Buck of Te Mata Estate. John’s late grandfather was born in Coleraine in Northern Ireland, which originally inspired the name. 

The first vintage of Coleraine was in 1989 Coleraine has been an assemblage of the finest wines produced from distinct plots within Te Mata Estate’s oldest vineyards on the Havelock Hills.

Reviews for 2019 Coleraine

"An iconic brand meets a terrific vintage. The result is a “must have” wine for collectors and investors. This is elegance on a grand scale and one of the best vintages I’ve tasted. Still youthful and quite closed (it was bottled on the day I tasted it) but with plushness and power."  Bob Campbell. February 2021

Church Road 1 is a range of single vineyard wines that showcase the terroir of our best vineyards. The Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District consistently makes our most characterful red wines, with its warm, stony soils producing low yield crops of intensely flavoured fruit with a full-bodied, rich yet vibrant flavour. Sheltered from sea breezes and brisk southerly winds, this is one of the warmest subregions in Hawke’s Bay, making it ideally suited to producing bold red wines. This vineyard produces dense, characterful Malbec with a core of dark fruit and a fine-grained tannin structure that brings length and drive to the palate.

AROMAS
A robust and characterful Malbec with generous, juicy, dark berry fruit and lifted violet floral notes complemented by subtle oak that imparts notes of cedar, cacao and warm spice.
BODY
The palate is full-bodied with exceptional mid-palate richness. This opulence is balanced with voluminous, fine-grained tannins that bring definition and length to the wine.

Te Mata Tasting Note
The deep crimson colour of Coleraine ‘21, edged in royal purple, is the first clue to this wine’s exceptional character. Pure Hawke’s Bay cabernet aromatics leap from the glass – wild blackberry, blackcurrant, thyme, and cedar, all interwoven with that signature Coleraine perfume of fresh roses.

The palate precisely balances richness with vibrant energy; modern and varietally expressive, with cassis, raspberry, mocha, spice, and a distinctive minerality that is uniquely 2021. The fruit ripeness is so succulent, it cloaks those profound, chiselled tannins that carry the palate on endlessly. With perfume, power, finesse, and length this is an absolute original. Coleraine ’21 is ‘The One’.

Accolades

100 Points ‘undeniably THE GOAT of New Zealand wine’, Sam Kim
98 Points ‘Is it one of the best Coleraines ever?’,  James Suckling
97+ Points  ‘Incredible wine’, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
97 Points  ‘A smashing cabernet blend’, Huon Hooke, The Real Review

 

Church Road 1 is a range of single vineyard wines that showcase the terroir of our best vineyards. Situated in the Bridge Pa Triangle Wine Growing District, our Redstone Vineyard is one of the warmest in Hawke’s Bay, perfect for the cultivation of later ripening varieties. This site typically produces ripe, supple and very aromatic Syrah with an amalgam of red and black fruit and lifted floral fragrance.

AROMAS
This Syrah is built around a core of brambly, dark berry fruit, carrying lifted aromatic notes of violet, lavender and warm spice. It is complemented by underlying complexities redolent of new leather and smoky roasted notes, with subtle undertones of toasted oak and a minerality typical of this vineyard.
BODY
The palate is fine and long with a polished tannin structure and gentle mid-palate flesh combining to produce a very even and seamless mouthfeel.