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Awatea Cabernets Merlot

Te Mata Estate, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

Classical Hawke’s Bay with a Modern Twist.

Awatea is Te Mata Estate’s Cabernet Merlot blend from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, first made in 1982 as the sibling wine to Coleraine, New Zealand’s most celebrated red. Grown almost entirely on the same Havelock Hills sites as Coleraine, Awatea offers much of its depth, structure and ageing potential at roughly a third of the price, making it one of the best-value fine wines the estate produces. The current release is the 2024 vintage.

Overview

Among people who know Te Mata Estate well, Awatea is one of the most loved wines in the range, in part because it can fly under the radar. It sits in the middle of the specialty winemaking Te Mata is best known for, effectively supported by Coleraine’s headline price, which lets Awatea offer serious quality without a serious price tag.

Critics have called it “modern claret at its finest,” pairing the architecture of a fine Bordeaux with the brightness and generosity of Hawke’s Bay fruit. It is more approachable young than Coleraine, more perfumed and more immediately seductive, while still rewarding a decade or more in the cellar.

In short: a Bordeaux-style Cabernet Merlot blend with the soul of claret, the warmth of Hawke’s Bay, and the pedigree of one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most established wine estates.

Story & Heritage

Awatea was first released in 1982 alongside Coleraine. The two wines were conceived as siblings: Coleraine built as a Cabernet-dominant, Left Bank-style wine, Awatea developed as its Merlot-dominant, Right Bank counterpart. That founding character has held: in every vintage, Awatea carries a significantly higher proportion of Merlot and Cabernet Franc than Coleraine, and Cabernet Franc is typically picked fairly ripe, giving Awatea a distinctive, perfumed lift that is one of its signatures.

Over more than four decades, the quality of Merlot and Cabernet Franc grown at Te Mata’s Hawke’s Bay vineyards has advanced enormously, and Awatea has evolved with it, gradually gaining finer tannins, more restrained oak, and a greater emphasis on vineyard expression. For many longtime fans, it is considered a “baby Coleraine”: sharing much of its bigger sibling’s depth and age-worthiness, at around a third of the price.

Awatea takes its name from the SS Awatea, a famously over-engineered New Zealand-built ocean liner that ran between New Zealand and Australia in the 1930s (the name is Māori for “the eye of the dawn”). The ship was requisitioned as a troop transport during the Second World War and was sunk off Algeria in 1942. In much the same spirit, Awatea the wine is an over-engineered Kiwi take on a small Bordeaux, one that has, over the decades since its first release, come to own a regional signature entirely its own: a wine that could not be made anywhere else in the world.

Alongside Coleraine, Awatea helped prove in the 1980s and 1990s that New Zealand could produce serious Cabernet-based wines, not only Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, and it remains one of the country’s longest-running modern red wine labels.

Vineyards & Terroir

Awatea’s fruit comes almost entirely from Te Mata Estate’s best sites in the Havelock Hills: at least 85% of the blend is drawn from these elevated, north-facing, free-draining hillside vineyards on the slopes of Te Mata Peak, including the estate’s Buck Vineyard, the 1892 Vineyard, and the Coleraine Vineyard itself. Small parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, come from estate vineyards just inland of Hastings.

Te Mata Peak itself is formed from Jurassic seabed clay, with red iron, quartz and volcanic silica in the soil. The sloped vineyards sit just three kilometres in a straight line from the Pacific Ocean, giving them cool ocean breezes, afternoon thermal winds, and a dramatic diurnal swing between warm days and cool nights. That combination produces a freshness, precision and detail in Te Mata’s Cabernet-Merlot blends that has become a genuine regional signature.

The region has drawn comparisons to parts of Bordeaux, particularly the Médoc and Saint-Julien, and to Mendocino and other cooler, Pacific-influenced parts of California, where dry air, coastal light and rocky, pine and vine-covered hills produce a similar interplay of ripeness and freshness. High UV exposure, high-vigour soils, over fifty years of dedicated viticultural research, and New Zealand’s oldest vines of these varieties (Te Mata holds the country’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot plantings) all contribute to the concentration and aromatic intensity in the glass, at only moderate alcohol, typically around 13.5%.

Winemaking Style

Awatea is made using the same winemaking and barrel programme as Coleraine. Grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, and undergo a traditional warm-plunge fermentation with extended maceration on skins. The wine is matured in new and seasoned French oak barriques for around 12 to 16 months, with roughly a quarter to a third new oak, and is regularly topped and racked before blending and a second winter in barrel.

Compared to Coleraine, Awatea is made in a slightly more fruit-forward style, with plum, blackberry and rosewater notes to the fore, but carries the same tannic backbone from French oak, meaning it continues to evolve well after it leaves the estate. Its aromatic profile, blackcurrant, blackberry, violet, tobacco, cedar and graphite, sits closer to Pauillac or Margaux in character than to the more muscular Cabernets of the Napa Valley: a wine built for detail and evolution rather than sheer power.

Tasting Notes

General character

Across vintages, Awatea shows floral aromas with intense blackberry, currant and dark plum flavours, leading to a rich, supple palate with a sustained finish. Expect blackcurrant and cassis, blackberry and dark plum, violet and floral perfume, tobacco leaf, cedar and pencil shavings, cocoa and spice, with fresh herbs and a graphite-like minerality underneath. On the palate it is medium-to-full bodied rather than heavy, with silky, polished tannins and bright acidity that keeps the wine energetic through a long, refined finish.

2024 Vintage

Bright crimson with a royal purple edge, Awatea ’24 glows in the glass with youthful poise and vitality. The aroma is refined and perfumed, offering blackberry, dark plum, cassis, redcurrant and dark cherry, with layers of thyme, cedar, tapenade and a gentle floral lift. The palate is generous and seamless, with black plum and blackberry carried by silky, ripe tannins and a savoury, umami thread of black truffle, spice and plum sauce. The finish is long, polished and mouth-watering, showing clarity, balance and a classical Awatea structure with graceful evolution ahead.

2024 Vintage Specifications

Specification	Detail
Blend	62% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc
Harvest	Hand-picked, 21 March to 9 April 2024
Fermentation	Destemmed, traditional warm-plunge fermentation, extended maceration on skins
Oak	17 months in new and seasoned French oak (28% new), regularly topped and racked
Blending	November 2024, returned to barrel for a second winter
Bottled	November 2025
pH	3.60
TA	5.5 g/L
Alcohol	13.5%

Cellaring Guide

Awatea is approachable from around two years after harvest, and then gains finesse, fragrance and complexity for ten to fifteen years, with its sweet spot generally between five and ten years from harvest. It’s a wine that ages slowly and gracefully: Te Mata has poured verticals of older Awatea vintages at twenty to thirty-plus years of age that still show remarkable vibrancy.

If you prefer the darker, more savoury notes of coffee, chocolate and firm tannin, Awatea can be enjoyed on release. For the wine at its most complex and complete, five to fifteen years in the cellar is ideal.

For general storage guidance across the Te Mata range, see the Te Mata Estate Cellaring Guide.

Food Pairings

Awatea is built for the classic Bordeaux table: grilled lamb, grilled steak, grilled aubergine, and roasted vegetables all work beautifully. But its New World acidity, slightly higher than a comparable claret, also opens it up to a wider, more global table.

Middle Eastern: handles mild spice like paprika, fruit notes like pomegranate, and even a little fresh chilli. Think couscous with mint, pomegranate and lamb, or a shawarma-style spiced lamb dish.
Chinese cuisine: its fruit brightness is a natural match for richer Chinese dishes.
Indian cuisine: pairs well with gravy-based dishes and spiced, herbal preparations.
Classic pairings: hard cheese and good company remain hard to beat.

Critical Acclaim

Used with permission.

2024 Vintage

James Suckling: praised its texture and layered tannin, “hard not to drink now,” noting it will also reward holding.
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit: compared it to a high-ranked classified Bordeaux at a fraction of the price.
Gary Walsh: called it one of the most structured and serious Awateas to date.
Stephen Wong, The Real Review: praised its precision, elegance and polished tannin, “delicious now” with room to unfold further.

2023 Vintage

96 points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate. Noted dusty cassis, bramble, raspberry, tobacco, cocoa and violet perfume; will evolve beautifully in bottle.
5 Stars, Michael Cooper. Praised deep blackcurrant, plum, spice and herbal complexity with a supple, savoury style.

2022 Vintage

95 points, Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate. “Modern claret at its finest,” with cassis, raspberry, chalk, tobacco, paprika and floral complexity.
94 points, Gary Walsh, Winefront. Praised mineral freshness, powdery tannins, raspberry and plum fruit and a long finish.

2021 Vintage

95+ points, Gary Walsh. Blackcurrant, raspberry, tobacco, cedar, precision and definition.
95 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review. Praised its refinement, focus and ability to reward cellaring.
97 points, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit. Rich fruit, silky tannins and excellent value.

2020 Vintage

97 points, 5 Stars, Sam Kim. Called it “the best Awatea ever made” at the time, with blackcurrant, plum, tobacco, cedar and cocoa tannins.
95 points, 5 Stars, Bob Campbell MW. Praised its elegance, blackcurrant, rose petals, herbs, cedar and spicy oak.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Awatea?

Awatea is Te Mata Estate’s Cabernet Merlot blend from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, first made in 1982 as the sibling wine to the estate’s flagship, Coleraine.

What grapes are in Awatea?

Awatea is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, sourced almost entirely from Te Mata’s Havelock Hills vineyards. The exact ratio shifts each vintage, but Merlot and Cabernet Franc are always present in significantly higher proportion than in Coleraine.

How is Awatea different from Coleraine?

Both wines come from the same estate, the same Havelock Hills vineyards, and the same winemaking and barrel programme. Awatea is more Merlot and Cabernet Franc-driven, more fruit-forward and more approachable young, while Coleraine is more Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant and more structured. Awatea typically costs around a third of Coleraine’s price.

How long can I cellar Awatea?

Awatea is approachable from around two years after harvest and reaches its best between five and ten years, continuing to gain complexity for up to fifteen years. Older vintages have been enjoyed at twenty to thirty-plus years of age and remain vibrant.

What food pairs well with Awatea?

Classic pairings include grilled lamb, grilled steak, grilled aubergine and roasted vegetables. Its bright New World acidity also makes it a strong match for Middle Eastern dishes with mild spice and pomegranate, as well as Chinese cuisine and Indian gravy-based dishes.

Where does the name Awatea come from?

Awatea is named after the SS Awatea, a New Zealand-built ocean liner of the 1930s. The name is Māori for “the eye of the dawn.”

What is the alcohol level of Awatea?

Typically around 13.5%, moderate for a wine of its concentration and intensity.

Current Release

The 2024 Awatea Cabernet Merlot is available now.

‘Precision, Power and Patience’

By Toby Buck

2026 Vintage Report

2026 was defined by precision. The 2026 growing season in Hawke’s Bay opened with a dry, hot spring, setting the tone for a vintage where timing and patience mattered more than anything else. Two early summer rain events provided just enough relief to lift the canopy at the right moment, before the season returned to long dry days and cooler nights through late summer and early autumn.

These conditions created an ideal balance between ripening power and natural freshness. At Te Mata Estate, we worked day by day in the vineyards, allowing full physiological ripeness to develop through extended hang time. With pristine fruit condition across all sites, harvest decisions were made deliberately and selectively, guided by experience and an intimate understanding of each vineyard block.

The result is a vintage of clarity, depth and expression.

Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay show outstanding purity and drive, combining concentration and texture with a vibrant line of acidity that gives real tension and energy.

Pinot Noir is especially promising, with each parcel showing its own personality and detail, building layers of perfume, structure, and what we often call true “pinosity.”

Our 2026 Syrah is rich in colour and presence this year, delivering dark fruit depth wrapped in fine, silky tannins.

The Bordeaux varieties, and Cabernet Sauvignon in particular, are shaping up with real distinction: expressive, structured, and generous, yet held in balance by a natural restraint that speaks clearly of place.

Overall, 2026 is a vintage of patience rewarded, where careful timing and Hawke’s Bay’s natural rhythm have aligned to produce wines of detail, energy, and richness.

– Senior Winemaker, Phil Brodie, June 2026

Technical Report to follow.
Sauvignon #9 in the World

By Toby Buck

The Best Value Sauvignon Blancs of 2026 – WineSearcher

Although Chile may be providing some fresh alternatives, New Zealand still holds the crown for best value Sav.The sun does indeed shine on Sauvignon Blanc as they offer some of the market’s best value wines.When it comes to great value, and by that we mean great taste at great prices, few can rival the green aromatic offerings of Sauvignon Blanc.

This year’s list is particularly illuminating as it sheds light on two key parts of the world that currently offer stunning iterations of the grape that are both affordable and widely available.Those regions are Chile and New Zealand, with eight of the 10 wines coming from these two skinny countries.So what makes these countries ideal homes for a grape whose origins lie deep in France’s Loire Valley?Well, both Chile and New Zealand are long, thin stretches of landmass that hug a coastline.

They both tend towards the cooler climes with alpine mountains and valleys. Which, for Sauvignon Blanc, help bring out the grape’s natural acidity while preserving its crystalline fruit.In New Zealand’s Marlborough, that can mean grassy notes of asparagus and crisp apple, while in Chile’s Limarí Valley, it can lead to exotic notes of citrus and jalapeño.So, all that aside, what are 2026’s best value Sauvignon Blancs?

In this global listing from Wine Searcher, New Zealand still ‘holds the crown’ for best value Sauvignon Blanc. “Te Mata Estate is one of the Hawke’s Bay’s most recognisable… esteemed wineries. With a price point of USD$23 and a score of 89 points, Te Mata Sauvignon Blanc offers a refreshing break from Marlborough’s offerings.”

WINE-SEARCHER-26ESB

Nat Sellers, Wine Searcher, 23 May 2026
Elston #1 in the World for Value

By Sue

Elston Chardonnay has just been named the fourth best value wine, of any wine, of any style, from anywhere.

And the best value chardonnay in the world.

‘Showing why chardonnay is clearly the premium white grape in New Zealand over sauvignon blanc, the No. 4 Te Mata Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay Elston 2024 combines depth and balance with freshness and clarity. 97 Points.’

Nick Buck, CEO of Te Mata Estate, says “Chardonnay is the world’s favourite white wine style. For our Te Mata Elston Chardonnay to be singled out as the best value chardonnay and named in the Top 10 is fantastic, and the depth of quality to price on offer in New Zealand chardonnay is really reinforced with six wines selected in the Top 100.”
Coleraine: A New Era

By Toby Buck

Something iconic happened recently.

In the Red Room in London’s Pavilion Hotel.

For the first time outside of New Zealand, Te Mata held a tasting of fifteen vintages of Coleraine, stretching back over more than forty years.

It was a technical deep-dive on Te Mata’s winemaking, and a gathering of fifteen of the UK’s top wine writers, sommeliers, and trade guests.

To get to share these wines ourselves, and to see them recognised and understood by fine wine professionals, reflects generations of work at Te Mata Estate – and heralds a new era for the wine. It’s a proud moment to see a Hawke’s Bay wine – and a New Zealand wine – showing just how high quality and age-able NZ red blends can be.

There were some common themes across each bottle: freshness, depth, energy, elegance. A decades long, evolving, modern, wine vision. And a remarkable consistency of quality – a confirmation of the wine’s “legacy-like” reputation. All this was evident in every glass.

More than ever though, what stands out is how much modern Coleraine appears as the cumulative result of refinements at every stage; at every vintage, and at every blending.

In this specific aspect Coleraine sits at the forefront of contemporary winemaking – endlessly researched, tested, polished, honed and perfected – while also setting a benchmark standard for ageing potential.

At this 130 year old winery, still independent and NZ family owned, and with wines created entirely in Hawke’s Bay by a dedicated team who continue to push the wine forward – Coleraine continues to inspire conversation, respect, and admiration, wherever in the world a bottle is opened.

Te Mata Coleraine: 1982-2023

Neal Martin, Vinous, November 26, 2025

‘Allow me to step on my colleague Rebecca Gibb MW’s turf for one moment. Perusing a merchant’s list a few months ago, a particular wine caught my eye: the 1982 Coleraine from Te Mata Estate. Aside from being born during the primordial period of New Zealand’s wine industry, this wine has historical significance: it was the maiden release of this flagship Bordeaux blend.

I snapped it up. It was not particularly expensive, certainly less expensive than its 1982 contemporaries from elsewhere in the world. Having kept in touch with the Buck family since I handed over coverage, I contacted Toby Buck, curious to see if many bottles were extant in their own library. To cut a long story short, the exchange led to a vertical tasting through Te Mata’s U.K. importer (J.E Fells & Co), which took place in September of this year during Buck’s visit to London with winemaker Phil Brodie.

Te Mata’s history stretches back to the mid-nineteenth century, ‘Te Mata Station’ having been established by English immigrant John Chambers in 1854.

Three parcels of vines were planted towards the end of the century. Under Bernard Chambers, the estate expanded viticulture so that by 1909, it had become the country’s largest producer. Whereas most of the grape production was used to make fortified wines, Te Mata vinified a small amount of dry wine. It only just managed to survive New Zealand’s temperance movement, and in 1974, the estate was acquired by the present co-owners, the Buck and Morris families.’

“From 1982 to 1988, Coleraine came from a single vineyard planted in 1900 in the Havelock Hills,” Buck explained. It had been over a decade since we had last met. “The varieties were based on Château Latour, although the first vintage did not contain any Cabernet Franc.”

I wondered about the origins of the name: “Coleraine is the river port in County Derry, Northern Ireland, where my great-grandfather on my dad’s side of the family, Samuel Morrow, came from,” said Buck. The etymology is Cuil Raithin, which means ‘nook of ferns’. The Morrows had a hardware business in Coleraine, but in 1908, at just 20 years old, Samuel emigrated to New Zealand. He settled on the East Coast just above Hawke’s Bay, selling hardware to rural communities. Family stories suggest his departure was sudden – more of a ‘get on the next boat’ escape than a planned migration. Because he could never return to Europe, the name Coleraine stayed with our family in New Zealand as a mark of our origin – a distant but tough place.”

“To us, it was a reminder of a wider world and a grand remembrance of life, family, community and conviviality. When the vineyard at Te Mata Estate was established, dad chose to name it Coleraine as a tribute to Samuel Morrow and the family story. It was also a way of putting this epic-sounding, evocative moniker – one that he had grown up with – out there in the public eye. In a sense, conjuring it back into reality. To him, it was this beautiful lyrical name to stand proudly among other grand names.”

Phil Brodie explained the origins of the vineyard: “From 1982 to 1988, the Coleraine came from a single vineyard planted in 1900 and originally called The Hill. In 1989, it became a blend of pickings in order to represent the best of the vintage. From 1994 onward, Coleraine is still based on the Havelock Hills with some fruit coming from the other subregion of Bridge Pa Triangle, and occasionally a sprinkling from the Dartmoor and Gimblett Gravels subregions. It follows the idea that a wine is greater than the sum of its parts, exploiting differences in soil, orientation and so forth. Te Mata Estate owns all vineyards, and we use our own bottling line, so we have full control.”

“I have been making the wine at Te Mata for 33 years,” Brodie continued. “I grew up on a sheep farm, so I was always outside, always walking through vineyards. We changed the viticulture in 2019 when we began using cover crops and mulching to lower soil temperatures in the vineyard. We also began to mechanically shake the vines when bunches reached 80 to 100 grams, to remove unripe berries. We started doing that with white varieties, and now the reds. We found that this temporarily shuts down the vine, resulting in smaller berries and thicker skins, which means we can use fewer sprays.”

“We use open-top tanks and plunge the fruit. We used to do four plunges, but now with smaller berries and older vines with more extract, it’s twice daily. There’s a seven-day fermentation, then we taste the must to decide when to halt the maceration, using only free-run juice and practicing a lot of co-inoculation rather than letting the wine sit on the gross lees. This helps avoid the risk of contamination, Brettanomyces and so on. The wine spends 18 to 20 months in French oak barrels with around 30% new wood. In 2017, we initiated a five-year program with a cooperage in Saint-Estèphe to design a barrel suitable for our Cabernet Sauvignon.”

‘Admittedly, I assumed the 1982 Coleraine would be in decline after 43 years. Not in the slightest. I was startled by its vivacity and complexity, both undimmed after all these years.

Incidentally, this was the only vintage of Coleraine that employed a little American oak. I would have no hesitation dropping it into a lineup of 1982 clarets to see if anyone noticed the imposter. I preferred the 1982 to the more savoury, meaty 1985.

Thereafter, I was impressed by Coleraine’s consistency. Vintages such as 1996, 2007, 2013 and 2020 were highlights, though they only had their noses in front of a clutch of other impressive wines.

What a pleasure it was to be reminded of the quality, classic stylishness and inherent longevity of one of New Zealand’s icons.

Henceforth, I will peruse merchants’ lists carefully in case I spot any other bottles of Coleraine. I recommend you do likewise.’

Original article here. Additional images from Te Mata Estate.

2013 Coleraine 95 Points

Drinking Window: 2026 – 2045

The 2013 Coleraine has a seductive bouquet with blackcurrant, raspberry coulis and blood orange scents, beautifully defined with a little more panache and charm than the 2009. The palate has a satin-like texture on the entry, moderate depth, sleek and sensual with a plush but restrained finish that demonstrates real sophistication. Classy from start to finish, this is a beautiful Coleraine that will give many years’ drinking pleasure.

2007 Coleraine 95 Points

Drinking Window: 2025 – 2045

The 2007 Coleraine initially has a tighter, less expressive bouquet than the 2004, demands more coaxing though there is a similar fruit profile with blackberry, cedar and perhaps a touch more pressed flowers. Impressive delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with finely sculpted tannins that carry layers of mulberry and blackcurrant fruit, allspice and Chinese 5-spice. This is very detailed on the finish with gentle grip: a wonderful Coleraine that will give 15, perhaps even 20 years of drinking pleasure.

2020 Coleraine 94 Points

Drinking Window: 2027 – 2052

The 2020 Coleraine has a bit more flair and purity on the nose compared to the 2019 with perfumed black cherries, cassis, violet and incense aromas, the oak a little more integrated by direct comparison. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins, a keen line of acidity, a little more powdery in texture but you cannot help but be seduced by the harmony, pepperiness and length on the finish. One of the best Coleraine vintages in recent years.

1996 Coleraine 94 Points

Drinking Window: 2025 – 2040

The 1996 Coleraine is less flamboyant and concentrated compared to the previous vintage, but this has more delineation and complexity with cedar and tobacco infused red berry fruit, hints of bay leaf and wild mint. Very focused, very classy. The palate is medium-bodied with attractive piquancy and spiciness towards the finish. Old World beautifully married with New World. Superb.

1982 Coleraine 94 Points

Drinking Window: 2025 – 2038

The 1982 Coleraine was the first commercialised vintage, an anomaly since it is the only vintage with a small percentage of American oak as there was a shortage of French oak in New Zealand. To say this surpasses my expectations is an understatement. It has a glorious, yes, Bordeaux-like nose, a doppelgänger for a Left Bank ’82: bright and vivid brambly red fruit with superb delineation and focus. Just a hint of dark chocolate emerges with time, betraying its non-Bordeaux roots. The palate is medium-bodied and driven by the silver thread of acidity. Quite a sweet core of red plum and crushed strawberry, silky smooth with ample weight on the finish, to my own surprise this historic New Zealand wine is nowhere near the end of its drinking window.

2021 Coleraine 93 Points

Drinking Window: 2027 – 2050

The 2021 Coleraine has another very intense nose not dissimilar to the 2019: layers of blackcurrant, cedar and violet, though not the same level of mineralité as the 2020. Then again, the aromatics improve in the glass and reveal very appealing graphite/pencil shavings scents that lend it a Left Bank allure. The palate is medium-bodied with a keen line of acidity. Fresh and vibrant, this is endowed with plenty of graphite infused black fruit with impressive precision on the finish. I was tentative about this Coleraine at first, but it eventually wins you over.

2023 Coleraine 92 Points

Drinking Window: 2028 – 2048

The 2023 Coleraine comes from the longest ever growing season and the second hottest on record. Unsurprisingly it has a very concentrated nose with dense blackberry, cassis, espresso and star anis, just a touch of pencil box with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity, silky tannins, very harmonious with just the right amount of sapidity on the finish. Fans out beautifully, though it just needs a little more persistence that may well manifest with time.

Only a small amount of Coleraine is available each year.

2026 will be the 40th release of Coleraine as Te Mata also celebrates its 130th anniversary.

Be signed up to make sure you don’t miss out.
Elston Chardonnay

By Toby Buck
Elston Chardonnay: The White Queen of Te Mata Estate

Elston is a historic New Zealand Chardonnay from Te Mata Estate’s oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vineyard, first planted in 1892 on the limestone and sandstone slopes of Te Mata Peak in Hawke’s Bay.

Recognised by James Suckling as the number one Chardonnay in the world for value, and the fourth wine overall in the world for value, Elston represents the unique combination of place, heritage and craftsmanship that defines Te Mata Estate.

More than 130 years after the first Chardonnay vines were planted, Elston continues to express the character of its landscape: intense Hawke’s Bay sunlight, cooling maritime breezes, ancient marine soils and careful vineyard stewardship.

The oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vineyard in New Zealand

Elston Chardonnay comes primarily from Te Mata Estate’s historic Chardonnay vineyards in the Havelock Hills, surrounding Te Mata Peak.

First planted in 1892, these vineyards represent New Zealand’s oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vineyard. For more than a century, Chardonnay has been cultivated in this landscape and crafted in the same historic Te Mata winery cellars.

The connection between vineyard, place and winery is central to Elston’s identity. It is a wine shaped not only by a grape variety, but by generations of observation, farming and winemaking.

Why is Elston Chardonnay called Elston?

Elston Chardonnay takes its name from Elston Hall in Nottinghamshire, England, where members of the Chambers family, who played a foundational role in Te Mata Estate’s history, were educated as children.

Elston Hall was also the ancestral home of the Darwin family. For the Chambers family, the name carried memories of education, curiosity and learning before their journey first to Australia and later to New Zealand, where they established Te Mata Estate.

The name Elston reflects values that remain central to Te Mata today: knowledge, cultivation, exploration and a long-term relationship with the land.

The White Queen of Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay

Elston Chardonnay is sometimes known as “The White Queen”, a reference to the wine’s characteristic white-fleshed stone fruit flavours: white peach, nectarine and citrus.

Hawke’s Bay’s combination of abundant sunshine and cool maritime influence creates ideal conditions for Chardonnay. The region allows grapes to achieve concentration and ripeness while maintaining freshness, acidity and aromatic lift.

Te Mata’s Chardonnay vineyards sit within approximately five kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, on elevated north-facing slopes that capture cooling sea breezes.

This combination creates a distinctive style of Chardonnay:
- Ripe but not heavy
- Textural but not broad
- Mineral but not austere
- Powerful yet elegant
The geology behind Elston Chardonnay

The character of Elston begins beneath the vines.

Te Mata Peak is one of Hawke’s Bay’s most remarkable geological formations: a tectonically uplifted seabed formed from compressed marine sediments, shells and limestone.

Ancient marine fossils can still be found within these soils, including oyster shells from the seabed that existed millions of years before the first vines were planted.

In exposed areas of the vineyard, the limestone and silica-rich rock is so dense that striking it with a shovel produces a bell-like ring.

The vineyard soils contain a rare combination of:
- Sandy loam topsoil, which provides drainage and supports healthy vine growth
- Sandstone and clay subsoil, combining drainage with water retention and mid-palate generosity
- Limestone and silica-rich layers, creating restriction, mineral intensity and structure
The vines cannot simply drive deep roots downward. Instead, roots spread through cracks and fissures in the rock, naturally restricting vigour and encouraging smaller, more concentrated berries.

The influence of Chardonnay clones

Elston Chardonnay is made from a combination of carefully selected Chardonnay clones, including:
- Mendoza (Wente) clone
- McRae clone
- Burgundy Meursault clone
The combination of these clones, Hawke’s Bay sunlight and the mineral soils of Te Mata Peak contributes to Elston’s distinctive character.

The intensity of sunlight encourages thicker grape skins, creating phenolic texture and flavours often described as:
- White nectarine skin
- Grapefruit pith
- Citrus peel
- Mineral freshness
These qualities are balanced by cool nights and ocean breezes, which preserve acidity and create freshness, length and precision.

A vineyard shaped by restraint

Elston Chardonnay comes from carefully managed vineyards that are naturally low yielding, typically producing around 4–6 tonnes per hectare.

The grapes are entirely hand harvested to preserve quality and protect the delicate balance between concentration and freshness.

The long Hawke’s Bay growing season allows flavours to develop gradually without excessive sugar accumulation. The region’s reliable dry conditions, created partly by its rain-shadow position, allow grapes to ripen slowly and evenly.

The character of Elston Chardonnay in the glass

Elston Chardonnay is recognised for its combination of richness, elegance and persistence.

Typical characteristics include:
- White peach and nectarine
- Citrus zest and grapefruit
- Crème brûlée richness
- Hazelnut and subtle vanilla
- Saline mineral notes
- Fine acidity and long persistence
The defining quality of Elston is its internal tension: the ability to combine generosity with freshness.

It offers the richness expected from Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay while retaining the line, precision and longevity associated with great vineyard sites.

A Chardonnay recognised around the world

Elston Chardonnay has earned international recognition throughout its history.

Te Mata Chardonnay has been served at significant occasions including:
- The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
- The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee celebrations
- The inauguration of President Barack Obama
The wine has also appeared in popular culture, including a reference in a Rosalind Boone novel.

These moments reflect Elston’s place as both a distinctive expression of New Zealand and a Chardonnay recognised internationally.

A wine of place, history and longevity

For more than 130 years, the Chardonnay vineyards of Te Mata Estate have been shaped by the same essential forces: ancient seabed soils, Hawke’s Bay sunlight, cooling ocean breezes and careful human stewardship.

Elston is not defined by one element alone. Its identity comes from the interaction of geology, climate, vineyard age, grape variety and generations of winemaking knowledge.

Elston Chardonnay captures the character of Te Mata Estate: elegant, expressive and enduring.

A wine with the richness of Hawke’s Bay, the precision of its soils and the history of a place that has been cultivating excellence since 1892.
Lighter Bottles, Bigger Impact

By Sue

For wine producers in Hawke’s Bay, sustainability is no longer an abstract ambition but a practical, daily discipline. At Te Mata Estate, this philosophy has long extended beyond the vineyard into packaging, where decisions about glass bottles carry real environmental weight. For more than fifteen years, the estate has worked with O-I to use recycled glass and progressively lighter bottles, embedding circular thinking into every stage of production.

Glass is uniquely suited to this approach. It is one of the few packaging materials that can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality, forming the basis of a true circular economy. Around 80 percent of recycled glass is remade into new bottles, often within weeks, reducing reliance on raw materials and lowering energy use in manufacturing. Each increase in recycled content directly cuts carbon emissions, making recycled glass not just a symbolic choice but a measurable one.

For a winery exporting roughly half its production to more than 45 countries, weight becomes a critical factor. Traditional heavy glass bottles, once associated with prestige, carry a hidden environmental cost in transport. Lighter bottles reduce shipping weight across every stage of the journey, from Hawke’s Bay to global markets, compounding emissions savings at scale. At Te Mata Estate, where wines are bottled onsite and shipped internationally, these incremental reductions add up to a meaningful impact over time.

The choice of lighter recycled glass also reflects a broader cultural shift within the wine industry. Increasingly, producers are questioning the visual language of weight and excess, recognising that quality resides in the wine itself rather than in heavy packaging. For Te Mata, the move toward lighter bottles is both practical and philosophical: a commitment to authenticity, where presentation aligns with environmental responsibility rather than perceived luxury.

Ultimately, the adoption of recycled, lightweight glass is not a single innovation but part of a continuum of small, deliberate improvements. As Te Mata Estate frames it, sustainability is built through “1% changes” across the entire system, from vineyard practices to packaging choices. In this context, the bottle becomes more than a container. It is a visible expression of stewardship, linking Hawke’s Bay to a global network of consumers while reducing the footprint of every glass poured.
Energy, Systems & Investment

By Sue

At Te Mata, our work begins in the vineyard and continues through the winery to the finished bottle. It is a continuous process, shaped by land, light and season. Increasingly, it is also shaped by the systems that support how we work, including energy, which sits quietly behind every stage of production.

Today, all of our electricity, across both vineyard operations and on-site winemaking, is supplied by Kea Energy. From vineyard activity through to vinification, cellaring, bottling and labelling, every part of our day-to-day operation is connected to this supply.

Kea Energy generates electricity entirely from renewable sources and matches its total generation to customer demand over the course of the year. By sourcing all of our electricity through this system, our work is supported by renewable generation that is grounded in New Zealand conditions and infrastructure.

Electricity, however, does not move through the grid in a way that allows it to be traced directly from source to use. For this reason, the “renewable” attribute of electricity is often separated into certificates, which can be bought and sold independently of the power itself. Many organisations rely on these instruments to make renewable claims, regardless of their direct connection to generation.

Our approach is to stay close to the physical system. We work directly with a New Zealand generator whose portfolio is entirely renewable, supporting both current supply and future development. We are continuing to strengthen the traceability of this relationship over time, but what matters most is the direction: towards an energy model that is grounded, transparent and aligned with how we actually operate.
A 130-year Connection

By Toby Buck

Te Mata Estate Through Britain’s Fine Wine Merchants

A 130-year connection between Hawke’s Bay and the heart of the world’s wine trade

For more than 130 years, Te Mata Estate has shared a special connection with the United Kingdom. From the earliest exports of Hawke’s Bay wines in the late nineteenth century to today’s thriving network of fine wine merchants, Britain has played an important role in the story of Te Mata. By 1909, Te Mata Estate had already become New Zealand’s largest winery and exporter, establishing an international reputation at a time when New Zealand wine was still largely unknown overseas. This early connection with Britain helped introduce the quality and character of New Zealand wine to a wider world.

Today, Te Mata wines are available through some of the UK’s most respected independent fine wine merchants, including Berry Bros. & Rudd, Jeroboams, Lay & Wheeler, Cru, Bordeaux Index, Fine & Rare and Farr Vintners. These specialists provide access to a growing range of Te Mata wines, from the flagship Coleraine and Awatea Cabernet Merlot to Elston Chardonnay, Bullnose Syrah, Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc and Alma Pinot Noir. Each release reflects the same philosophy that has guided Te Mata for generations: estate-grown fruit, hand harvesting, careful winemaking and a deep connection to the vineyards of Hawke’s Bay.

The continuity of Te Mata is central to its story. The vineyards that established the estate’s reputation more than a century ago continue to produce today’s wines, with all fruit grown on Te Mata Estate, hand picked, vinified and bottled at the historic winery. With one foot in the traditions of the Old World and one foot in the innovation and character of the New, Te Mata has always sought to create wines that belong in the company of the world’s great regions while remaining unmistakably connected to New Zealand. As The Wine Advocate wrote in 2026: “Te Mata has long been one of the great estates in Hawke’s Bay; however, when considered in a national context, the thoughtfulness and applied intellect of the growing and making of wine at this estate make it one of the crowning achievements of New Zealand.”

That reputation continues to grow among international critics and wine lovers. Bob Campbell MW described Te Mata as “New Zealand’s most prestigious wine … nobody dreamed such a wine could be made from New Zealand grapes,” while JancisRobinson.com noted that “consistency of quality and style … have been the hallmarks since day one.” Matthew Jukes called Te Mata “the beating heart of Hawke’s Bay in vinous form,” and Andy Howard MW observed that while Coleraine’s original ambition may have been inspired by the great Cru Classé estates of Bordeaux, “today Coleraine has evolved its own style.” For wine lovers across Britain, this means that discovering Te Mata is easier than ever, through merchants who understand provenance, quality and the enduring relationship between New Zealand and the UK.
2024 The Holy Grail?

By Ashleigh Jamieson

Each vintage is a celebration of time and our terroir. Each one is distinct, each one is shaped by the land, people, and nature. In 2024, we had time to find poise. It was an remarkable harvest, producing beautifully balanced wines with elegance, power and restraint. Deeply thought-provoking wines. It was a vintage that rewarded precision. Each pick, each parcel, each ferment was handled with a jeweller’s attention to detail – a deliberate pursuit of purity.

Vintage 2024

Technical Report from Senior Winemaker Phil Brodie Vintage is, for us, a celebration of the reflection of time and our terroir—each one distinct, each one shaped by the land, people, and nature. In 2024, we had time to find poise. The 2024 was an incredible vintage, producing beautifully balanced wines with precision—powerful yet restrained, and deeply thought-provoking. Wines with a degree of umami, salinity, and acidity to focus the wine, give tension and energy, and sweeten the tannins on the finish. The wines have delivered an amazing sense of place.

Winter – Spring
Early winter was dry, then came some rain, which was needed to replenish our underground water table. Thankfully, we received a beneficial volume of rain in the early part of spring that gave us the ability to recharge our soils and grow a healthy, full canopy. From there on, we received very little in terms of significant rain events, and with a cool, dry, windy flowering period, smaller bunches formed, promoting reduced potential yields. We then began to see blocks experience levels of water stress. Given intimate knowledge and understanding of our soils across the various subregions, we started increasing irrigation to allow the vines to combat heat spikes in late December and January.

Summer – Autumn
December to early February saw rapid heat accumulation with above-average temperatures. There was very little rain over these months, giving clean canopies, clean fruit, controlled vine stress, and very small berries on both whites and reds. These factors, combined with exceptionally low cropping rates, produced an early harvest, starting with some hand-picked Chardonnay for Elston on 26 February with good sugars and balanced acids.

Harvest
Harvesting continued through into April with classical daytime temperatures in very dry conditions, combining with tiny berries to produce significantly lower yields, both in cropping rates and juice yields. As a result, the whites showed great intensity and tension, with wonderful natural acidity, and the reds are deeply coloured with plenty of extract, rich with purity, complexity, and length.

Conclusions – Notes of Significance
• A very dry preceding winter
• Early onset of vine stress monitored by new advanced technology coupled with precision irrigation
• Above-average heat summation (1590 GDD — Growing Degree Days)
• A tapering of warm nights in early February led to retention of acids, contributing to
the wines’ varietal expression, balance, and wonderful length
• Beautiful clean fruit with no disease pressure
• Exceptionally low crops with tiny berries and great concentration
• White wines – acid retention, pure with intense complexity
• Red wines – deeply coloured, complex, and structured

Through the continuous improvements from the formalisation of our winery and vineyard R & D programme, including organic, biodynamic and regenerative practices, new pruning techniques, greater experience with an intimate knowledge of our blocks down to the individual vine, increasing vine age, and attention to detail, all this coupled with such an incredible vintage the wines from 2024 are absolutely stellar.
Can we see The Holy Grail?

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