Te Mata Estate Coleraine Cabernet Merlot 2023

The 2023 Coleraine comprises 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. This cuvée is not made to a recipe, rather as a selection of the best from each vintage. In 2023, due to the weather induced by Cyclone Gabrielle, which landed in early February (the second or third), the strongest performer was the Cabernet Sauvignon due to bunch architecture, small berries, thick skins and, in this case, the low-vigor rootstocks and the chicory in between the rows. Te Mata invests heavily into research and development in the vineyards, which really assists in a vintage like 2023, which imposes challenges. The elevation in all aspects of this wine from the already tremendously impressive Awatea is significant. Here, the tannins have a finer grain, the fruit is more persistent and the package is far more integrated and seamless. With raspberry, iodine, crushed shells, nori, pressed flowers, new lead pencil, tobacco, bramble and cassis, it is magnificent. Raw cocoa and the gentle and subtle creep of game/gristle/blood and sweet marrow indicate its direction later in life. I love this wine. I think I write that every time I taste it. Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate