Te Mata Estate Merlot/Cabernets

Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognised wines exclusively from its Hawkes Bay vineyards. Under the direction of John Buck, Te Mata Estate has, over nearly thirty years, produced a stunning array of red and white wines including famous labels such as Coleraine, Awatea cabernets/Merlots, Bullnose Syrah, Elston Chardonnay, Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc and Zara Viognier. In 2012 Te Mata Estate launched Estate Vineyards, a collection sourced exclusively from their own vineyards and blended to represent the best qualities of their variety.

Te Mata Estate is New Zealand's leading producer of modern Bordeaux varietals, a reputation founded, since 1982, upon the excellence of our flagship wine, Coleraine. This traditional blend of Bordeaux varieties is a consistently rewarding, complex wine showing ripe blackcurrant, plum and chocolate flavours with a supple and sustained palate.

Merlot,

The grapes for Estate Vineyards Merlot/Cabernets were harvested between 21 March and 20 April from Te Mata Estate's own vineyards in the Bridge Pa Triangle, Havelock Hills and Woodthorpe Terraces sub-regions of Hawke's Bay.

The individual parcels of each variety, from each plot, were de-stemmed before a traditional warm fermentation, followed by extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were pressed, returned to tank for malolactic fermentation, then run off to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barrels for 11 months maturation before blending. The wines were regularly topped and racked, throughout maturation, blended and traditionally egg-white fined before bottling. The final blend is 47% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot, 16% cabernet franc.

Bright, intense magenta, with ripe wild blackberry, red plum, cherry cedar and rosemary all jumping from the glass, Estate Vineyards Cabernets/Merlot is fresh, rich and fruit-driven. The palate shows notes of ripe cherry, date and blackcurrant with an even and sustained weight throughout.