Tasting Note No.11
Not since tasting Vincent Girardin's 1er Cru 'Les Folatieres' 1998 Puligny-Montrachet was I so spellbound by a chardonnay. A thoroughly awesome experience at the fraction of the price of a Burgundy. I was amazed.
Colour bright hay with straw-green edges. The nose is unbelievably fragrant, butterscotch aromas mixing with melon, almonds and nectarines. A wild ariomatic sensation that I associate with great Montrachet, not Hawkes Bay. The palate that followed made things even better! A powerful and silky taste sensation with vanilla and nectarines. The wine has impeccable balance and a long finish with a fantastic minerally aftertaste. A superb wine in every sense, complex and serious. Drinking beautifully even now, will mature for an other 5 years easily. It cost AU $45. It is without a doubt, a bargain in my mind. Winemaker Peter Cowley is the master of his craft.
2003 TE MATA ESTATE Woodthorpe Sauvignon Blanc
Tasted alongside the very commercial and run of the mill CLOUDY BAY Sauvignon Blanc 2003 ($30) it was the TE MATA that really shined. Beautifully fragrant nose followed by lovely sweet fruit and a long dry finish, it was clearly the (much) better wine of the two at AU $25. Beautiful balance and tasty mineral-melon fruit. A delicious experience.
2001 TE MATA ESTATE Coleraine Cabernet/Merlot
Colour bright cherry red, rather light for such premium wine. A medium bodied St.Julien style red with good berry flavours and very high quality oak. The long finish is lovely but I just don't see the value in it at AU $70. I believe it is worth no more than $30. A fairly good wine nevertheless from a (I suspect) difficult vintage. It may improve over the next 5 years.
2001 TE MATA ESTATE Awatea Cabernet/Merlot
Clearly a step down from the Coleraine, it is a less complex but still attractive medium bodied Médoc style red. Classy oak and good balance but it lacks concentration. Not a bargain at AU $45.
2002 TE MATA ESTATE Woodthorpe Cabernet/Merlot
A wild and gamey nose promises a lot (Is it a better vintage?) that is reminiscent of Pauillac but the palate is light to medium bodied with not enough fruit concentration. Still, an honest red at AU $25 it may develop to be a more exciting wine in the next 2 years.
Tasted:November 2003.
2002 TE MATA ESTATE Elston Chardonnay-Hawkes Bay-N.Z.
2002 TE MATA ESTATE Elston Chardonnay-Hawkes Bay-N.Z.
"(Wine) information is only as valuable as its source" DB
comments
yip bang on.
01 wasnt flash for reds at all. No one delivered really. Coleraine and Awatea are good value in good vintages eg 95,98,00 and no doubt 02. My measurement of general Hawkes Bay red quality is whether Esk Valley makes Terraces (post 95). ie 95 98 00 02.
I was surprised however when i did a vertical of coleraine 89-00 how fantastic they were overall. All drank well although some would peak a lot earlier than otheres eg 91 would drink well after 99 for example.
Also the 00 first growth tasting i went to really gave perspective as to the style and qualities that te mata are obviously aiming at, and they are doing a great job really. I will be buying the 02 Coleraine I expect in magnums.
Elston is the bargin luxury NZ Chardonnay, a lot cheaper than Neudorf or kumeu mates.
With the exception of the 98, elston has always wowed me ever since i first got into wine. The 96 last year was sensational.
Te Mata is really the rock of the Hawkes Bay and the prices are reasonable compared to the new 'charge $90 for my first vintage' brigade.
C.
01 wasnt flash for reds at all. No one delivered really. Coleraine and Awatea are good value in good vintages eg 95,98,00 and no doubt 02. My measurement of general Hawkes Bay red quality is whether Esk Valley makes Terraces (post 95). ie 95 98 00 02.
I was surprised however when i did a vertical of coleraine 89-00 how fantastic they were overall. All drank well although some would peak a lot earlier than otheres eg 91 would drink well after 99 for example.
Also the 00 first growth tasting i went to really gave perspective as to the style and qualities that te mata are obviously aiming at, and they are doing a great job really. I will be buying the 02 Coleraine I expect in magnums.
Elston is the bargin luxury NZ Chardonnay, a lot cheaper than Neudorf or kumeu mates.
With the exception of the 98, elston has always wowed me ever since i first got into wine. The 96 last year was sensational.
Te Mata is really the rock of the Hawkes Bay and the prices are reasonable compared to the new 'charge $90 for my first vintage' brigade.
C.
-
Adam
Re: comments
Craig(NZ) wrote:
Te Mata is really the rock of the Hawkes Bay and the prices are reasonable compared to the new 'charge $90 for my first vintage' brigade.
C.
Bearing in mind that the Te Mata stuff is a lot cheaper in NZ than Oz...
Re: comments
Craig(NZ) wrote:The 96 last year was sensational.
My 1st experience of Te Mata was the 96 Elston, of which the last bottle went 1-2 years ago. To my mind it was pretty special. Yet to have a bad bottle of Elston and a couple have definitely had the "wow" factor.
Had my first bottle of the 98 Awatea a couple of month ago - was impressed, but it was still fairly tannic. Looking forward to the remaining bottles in a few years time.
Thanks for the tip on the Coleraine - just missed out on the 2000, so will look out for the 2002.
cheers
Ian