2021 Te Mata Awatea Cabernet Merlot

Highly Rated
Arguably NZ's greatest producer of Bordeaux blends, this is the perfect way to get acquainted with Te Mata's refined style.
4.1
Rated 4.1 out of 5 stars
7 Reviews

Price:
Sale price$50.00
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Description

If you want to sample the great Cabernet blends of Hawkes Bay's Te Mata Estate, the Awatea is the perfect place to start.

You get the supreme craftsmanship of a family owned winery with over a century of experience making wines in this region. Some of the best fruit in NZ. All that history. Considering all that, it's great value.

It's a wine that improves with time in bottle, but is supple enough to be opened from day one.

Stellar value here from one of New Zealand's great estates.

97 Points
"Offering harmony and structure within an opulent frame of rich fruit and silky tannins, this is a gratifying red offering awesome value."
- Sam Kim (Wine Orbit)

96 Points
"The 2021 Awatea Cabernets Merlot is dusty and chalky aromatically, with lavender and crushed rocks, pouch tobacco and a sheet or two of nori. The wine feels fleshy despite that, and this brings a pleasurable see-saw of savory and succulent. This is an excellent wine and perfumed to the extreme."
- Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

95+ Points
"So 'minerally' and cool. Very long. Precision and definition mark it out as a wine of class and fine filigreed deliciousness. It's just so good, energetic, stony and definitely worthy of cellaring. Superb."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
95 Points
"The wine is tautly focused, poised and long on the palate, refined and vibrant. It's just a babe and will reward cellaring big-time."
- Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

Awatea takes its name from the historic ship SS Awatea (a Maori word meaning "Eye of the Dawn") that sailed the Auckland - Sydney - Wellington route in the late 1930s. The Awatea was requisitioned as a troop transport in WWII and was sunk off Algeria in 1942.

A deep brilliant crimson with an underlying amethyst hue, Awatea '21 immediately offers up concentrated blackcurrant, blackberry, dark plum, cocoa-powder and cedar with a subtle marine note in the background. The ripe dark and red fruit is fresh and varietally defined, enlivening the wine with layers of brightness, persistence and appeal. This depth of fruit, balanced by the bright, ripe, acid tension, carries right through to its fine dry finish. The most concentrated Awatea ever this '21 is a delight.

97 Points - "Offering harmony and structure within an opulent frame of rich fruit and silky tannins, this is a gratifying red offering awesome value. The enticing bouquet shows blackcurrant, mulberry, tobacco and cedary oak characters with a delicate floral overtone. The palate displays amazing depth and persistency, wonderfully complemented by delectable fruit flavours with spicy nuances. Tannins are fine, mouth-coating and just right, making it structured and seamless at the same time. Harmony and structure." - Sam Kim (Wine Orbit)

96 points - "The 2021 Awatea Cabernets Merlot is dusty and chalky aromatically, with lavender and crushed rocks, pouch tobacco and a sheet or two of nori. The wine feels fleshy despite that, and this brings a pleasurable see-saw of savory and succulent. This is an excellent wine and perfumed to the extreme." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

95 Points - "Blackcurrant, raspberry and leaf, tobacco, and spicy perfume, pencil/cedar oak. Medium-bodied, tannin sits so nicely within the wine, fresh and long, with classic fragrance in with that. So 'minerally' and cool. Very long. Precision and definition mark it out as a wine of class and fine filigreed deliciousness. It's just so good, energetic, stony and definitely worthy of cellaring. Superb." - 95+ pts, Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 Points - "Deep-ish purple-red colour, glowing and bright; there are fresh mulberry, blackcurrant and raspberry aromas paired with a delicate sheen of barely perceptible nuttiness from oak (30% new). The wine is tautly focused, poised and long on the palate, refined and vibrant. It's just a babe and will reward cellaring big-time." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

93 Points - "Aromas of fresh flower stems and green leaves. Fresh bark, too. Roses. Graphite. Medium-bodied with tight and linear tannins and a focused and refined finish. Slightly chewy. Juicy. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot and 14% cabernet franc. Drinkable, but needs two or three years." - James Suckling

Customer Reviews

4.1
Rated 4.1 out of 5 stars
Based on 7 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 2 Total 4 star reviews: 4 Total 3 star reviews: 1 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
7 reviews
  • WP
    Wayne P.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    1 year ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Top Te Mata

    Serious red blend. Sensational black fruit, great depth and length.

  • DK
    david k.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    1 year ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Little brother!

    The 'little brother' to Coleraine, maybe, however an excellent example of Kiwi Cab Merlot at a fair price! Te Mata really is where this classic NZ blend really shines...

  • JF
    Jun F.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    2 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Best Cab Blend at this price point!

    Simply best value Cab Blend at this price. Stock up when you can!

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Te Mata Estate

Te Mata Estate has one of the richest winemaking histories in all of New Zealand.

With vineyards planted back as far as 1896, the rich history of this iconic Hawke's Bay producer is enviable in the relatively young NZ wine landscape.

Their wines come exclusively from carefully selected sites across Hawke's Bay. The aim to craft classic, structural wines that are comparable to the very best the world has to offer.

The Te Mata Estate Coleraine is considered by many as NZ's premier Bordeaux blend. A shining jewel in the crown of the Hawke's Bay region.

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