2023 Te Mata Coleraine Cabernet Merlot

98 pts
Considered by many as NZ's greatest wine. The pedigree, the quality, Coleraine can stand toe to toe with any of the great Bordeaux blends in the world.
4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
5 Reviews

Price:
Sale price$145.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Te Mata Coleraine is simply the most iconic and collectable wine in all of New Zealand.

Sourced from the oldest, most established vineyard blocks across the Havelock Hills, Coleraine is always a wine of structure, depth, and longevity, designed to evolve over decades. The 2023 vintage comes off the back of a cooler season, bringing incredible clarity to the fruit and a more refined, classical frame.

Cabernet Sauvignon leads the way, delivering cassis, graphite, and fine tannin, while Merlot and Cabernet Franc add plushness, spice, and floral lift. It’s precise and layered, with a balance between dark fruit intensity and an elegant, savoury backbone. There’s freshness too - an energy that keeps everything in check and hints at the decades of potential ahead. Oak is present but seamlessly woven in, supporting rather than dominating.

With more than 40 remarkable releases under its belt, Coleraine is a wine with a tremendous pedigree. A rich history and an unswerving pursuit of world-class quality is the backdrop to this stunning dry red - priced extremely fairly when compared to its international peers.

Grab yours while you can and add this modern icon to your collection.

 98 points
"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 (The Wine Advocate)

98 points
"Stunning bouquet ... engaging and captivating. The palate exhibits immense concentration and presence, superbly enhanced by silky texture and layers of chalky tannins. The acidity is perfectly pitched and provides freshness to this long-living wine. A wine of meticulous precision and undeniable sophistication."
- Sam Kim (Wine Orbit)
95+ points
"Wonderful perfume, crisp with kind of a porcini mushroom umami-laced character about it, more of a cool and bony feel, but a great wine all the same. I’m spending a lot of time thinking about this wine, about where it will go, and where it sits in the pantheon of Te Mata Coleraine, and the upshot it is ‘up’. It’s either 95+ or 96 points." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

98 points - "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. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

98 points - “Stunning bouquet … engaging and captivating. The palate exhibits immense concentration and presence, superbly enhanced by silky texture and layers of chalky tannins. The acidity is perfectly pitched and provides freshness to this long-living wine. A wine of meticulous precision and undeniable sophistication.” - Sam Kim (Wine Orbit)

95+ points - "Blackcurrant, essence of Cabernet thing here, dried herbs (thyme) and nori, tobacco, pencil, liquorice/aniseed. Medium-bodied, bright acid line, ripe tomato, black and red fruit, lots of pulverized rock stuff to tannin, with a very long finish. Wonderful perfume, crisp with kind of a porcini mushroom umami-laced character about it, more of a cool and bony feel, but a great wine all the same. I’m spending a lot of time thinking about this wine, about where it will go, and where it sits in the pantheon of Te Mata Coleraine, and the upshot it is ‘up’. It’s either 95+ or 96 points." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
Based on 5 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 4 Total 4 star reviews: 1 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
5 reviews
  • JC
    Jessica C.
    Verified Buyer
    2 months ago
    Reviewing
    2022 Te Mata Coleraine Cabernet Merlot
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    beautiful

    it’s beautiful, but in an offbeat way. Quiet and complex. Lots of cedar yet not heavy, slightly smoky, a little brooding but plenty of fruit too.

    I bought one to try young, but the second won’t be opened for five years yet. I expect things to be integrated and rounded then.

  • RV
    RICHARD V.
    Verified Buyer
    7 months ago
    Reviewing
    2023 Te Mata Coleraine Cabernet Merlot
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Dinner with friends

    what a drop

    what more can I say

    absolutely true to its heritage

  • MC
    Martin C.
    Verified Buyer
    10 months ago
    Reviewing
    2022 Te Mata Coleraine Cabernet Merlot
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    A big beautiful wine

    Amazing cab merlot. However, I found it a little too complex for my palate.

    Lots of layering of flavours. Tobacco plus a sweetness to it

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Variety Style ["Cabernet Blends"]
Country New Zealand
Region Hawkes Bay
Feature High Score
Iconic
Reviewed By The Wine Front
The Wine Advocate
Wine Orbit
Critic Score 98
95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2023
Closure Cork

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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