Winter 2003 finished very wet with about half our annual rainfall occurring in August and September. The timing of bud burst was normal however, and a warm spring ensured a very good and even flowering. Conditions through to December were mild and very dry with no rain in spring and early summer until we had an inch or so around Christmas. December and January were hot with the thermometer above 30 degrees Celsius on many occasions and typically above 25 degrees Celsius.
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Vintage 2003
2003 produced small crops in New Zealand due to a cool, frosty spring. Hawkes Bay had its share of this weather although Te Mata was fortunate enough to escape largely unscathed. With the exception of low crops for Chardonnay and Merlot our growing season was quite normal in every respect. Summer was dry, with only 35mm of rain recorded at Havelock North between 20 December – 25 February.
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Vintage 2002
Vintage 2002 was the longest harvest in Te Mata’s history. It began on Friday 15th March and finished, after nearly 7 weeks of picking, on Wednesday 1st May. It was a high quality growing season albeit with an unusual pattern. An early and warm spring progressed to a humid summer, and a very long, warm and dry autumn. The major feature was the “on-vine time” where the magnificent end of the season weather allowed each parcel of each variety to be harvested at optimum flavour ripeness.
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Vintage 2001
The single greatest factor in reviewing the 2001 vintage is the reduced volumes that were harvested due to the cool November flowering. Vineyard yields for 2001 were 50% of normal levels. Apart from November, it was a normal growing season in every other respect. As is often the case with low cropping years the quality is very high. The vineyards produced a very clean crop of fully ripe grapes that show good balance and concentration. The white wines exhibit the typical Hawkes Bay citrus and stonefruit characters, have good palate weight and are between the 1996 and 1997 vintages in style. The red wines appear similar to the 1991 vintage with good colour, rich fruit flavours and firm tannin structures.
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2000
The 2000 vintage in Hawkes Bay was characterised by an extremely dry growing season resulting in smaller than average berry sizes giving wines with intense flavours. Heat summation was back to normal levels, after the hotter than average 1998 and 1999 seasons, and quality looks very promising. Our white wines are showing intense ripe fruit flavours and excellent structure, while our red wines are darkly coloured, and showing supple palates backed by long, firm tannins.
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1999
It was an early harvest, characterised by reduced volumes and high quality. A special feature was the “on-vine” time we were able to gain, from a very early bud burst and flowering; running through to harvest. Total heat summation was close to that of the 1998 season although we experienced several heavy showers in January and February. Yields were approximately 60% of normal size and the resulting red wines are classically aromatic, ripe with a tight elegant structure similar in style to those of 1990. The white wines are fruit dominant in the palate and forward in style.