Te Mata Coleraine Cabernet Merlot 2021 750ml

Dubbed as "New Zealand’s greatest winery" by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and "New Zealand's first growth" by Decanter (amongst many other superlatives), Te Mata is a family-owned Estate in Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Established in 1896 on a former pastoral land-holding, the Estate has been producing classic wines modelled on Bordeaux varieties and blends with a modern interpretation.
Coleraine is an assemblage of the finest wines from distinct plots within Te Mata Estate’s oldest vineyards on the Havelock Hills. Each parcel of grapes was destemmed before a warm-plunged fermentation and extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were then matured in predominantly new French oak barrels for 17 months. The final blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc.

The 2021 Coleraine is a superstar. It's the best I recall seeing on release in recent years, a total "pleasure-dome" situation. Tea tree, oyster shell, lavender, black tea and tobacco leaf burst from the glass. Seamless, polished tannins grace the palate. There is texturally more silk to the tannins here than the Awatea tasted beside this (another great wine, for what it's worth). There are notes of creamy red fruits, cassis and bramble, Asian five spice, black cherry and graphite/mineral skein. The persistence of flavor here is extraordinary; it's detailed and nuanced but insistent in the mouth. The tannins cup the fruit in the mouth. Winemaker Phil Brodie said there are no enzymes or added tannin; it's all from the vineyard.