Te Mata Estate

History

Te Mata Estate is New Zealand's only winery built in the nineteenth century to still be in continuous production in its original barrel-halls and original vineyards. With cabernet, chardonnay and pinot planted here in the 1890s, the 'Te Mata Special Character Zone' in the Havelock Hills was the first grape-growing area in New Zealand to be recognized and conserved for its unique heritage value. The legislation protecting the area was developed in 1996 by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, and is the first example of conservation policy based on winemaking heritage in New Zealand.

After returning from France in 1896 the winery and site was established by Bernard Chambers on Te Mata Station - a large area of farmland the Chambers' family had bought in 1854 from Ngāti Kahungunu. Three vineyards were planted in the 1890s and incorporated into this early development - including Eighteen92 on Te Mata Road and the Elston vineyard - the earliest chardonnay planting in New Zealand. These vineyard sites extend across the elevated, north-facing slopes of the Havelock Hills at the foot of Te Mata Peak and are all still used today.

With the help of the Marist brotherhood, and the Beecham family in Central Hawke's Bay, the early vineyards were recognized for their export quality by Romeo Bragato in 1905. Since 1905 Te Mata Estate wines have been available, and won praise, in Europe, including a Gold Medal at the Imperial International Exhibition in 1909.

The winery's original buildings and cellars have been in continuous use for winemaking since then and in the early twentieth century Te Mata Estate was New Zealand's largest wine producer. The main cellar was built in the 1870s from local hand-fired brick with a matai and rimu roofing. This cellar was augmented by a first-year barrel hall in the 1930s. The Chambers family sold the property in 1919. Te Mata Vineyards (TMV) was established and the property had two other owners until it was acquired by the Buck and Morris families in 1974. Since this point Te Mata Estate has undergone significant modernization and development.

Modern History

Under the direction of the Buck and Morris families the Te Mata Estate winery complex was modernized and extended in the 1980s by New Zealand architect Sir Ian Athfield. In the 1990s An underground barrel hall, cuverie and office buildings were added. These buildings use the region's prominent Art Deco and Spanish Mission architecture as deliberate influences.

Opposite the winery, the distinctive Coleraine House (formerly known as Buck House and also designed by Sir Ian Athfield) is a private residence that has gained much recognition as a significant work of New Zealand architecture. Coleraine House is known as New Zealand's most photographed home, and appeared on a postage stamp celebrating New Zealand wine in the 1990s.

Three generations of the Buck family have lived here and worked at Te Mata Estate. The wine Coleraine, and the vineyard it comes from, derive their name from the Buck family's Northern Ireland origin.

Te Mata Estate currently runs three distinct areas of Hawke's Bay vineyards in and around Havelock North: the original 1892 planting in the Havelock Hills to the west of the town, covering 15 hectares (37 acres), the Woodthorpe vineyard, covering 75 hectares (190 acres) to the northeast of the town, and two vineyards, each covering 15 hectares (37 acres), in the Bridge Pa Triangle to the west of Hastings. Te Mata's vineyards are situated on the north-facing, elevated slopes around the winery and in one of New Zealand's sunniest and hottest regions. Their vineyards use free-draining, silt loam soils, and at Bridge Pa a mixture of red metal soils over river gravel. Since 2001, from the fruit grown on these vineyards only half is made under the Te Mata label.

Te Mata was the first winery to have both its wine production and vineyards accredited under the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand programme. In 1994 Te Mata Estate introduced viognier to New Zealand. They also pioneered gamay noir, and have the second-oldest planting of syrah in the country.

Production

In a typical year Te Mata Estate produces 30,000 cases of wine, most of which is sold internationally. Due to production size and reputation their top wines often sell out quickly, with the 2013 Coleraine selling out in 10 days. Unlike many wineries Te Mata Estate undertakes every step of production of all their wines entirely on their own estate, with some wines travelling only 100 metres from vine to bottle. All Te Mata wines are hand-harvested, hand-sorted and grown on the Hawke's Bay vineyard sites on which Te Mata Estate staff reside.

Te Mata Estate is regarded as New Zealand's finest producer of cabernet and merlot blends, and produces a variety of other well-known wines including Bullnose Syrah (from the Bridge Pa Triangle), Awatea Cabernets/Merlot, Estate Vineyards Gamay Noir, Zara Viognier, Elston Chardonnay and Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc - a barrel-fermented sauvignon blend similar in style to a Graves region, or southern Bordeaux white wine.

Continuing the initial vision of Bernard Chambers, Te Mate Estate's wines have gained acclaim both within New Zealand and overseas. Te Mata Estate wines have been served at Noma in Copenhagen, Raffles in Singapore, and the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Te Mata wines are distributed to 42 countries including in London by Hedonism, Fortnum & Masons and Harrods, and in Hong Kong and Japan by Berry Bros & Rudd. A Te Mata Estate wine dinner was recently held at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant in London.

Recognition

In their 2016 article on Te Mata Estate, Decanter Magazine described the winery as 'New Zealand's First Growth' with Coleraine 'among the top Bordeaux blends in the world.' Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wine 2016 lists Te Mata Estate's Coleraine, Awatea, Bullnose Syrah and Elston Chardonnay as all 'Five Star' and 'Super Classic'. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate's article on 'Great Wine Producers of The World' awarded Te Mata Estate the highest possible classification - 'Outstanding Wine - 5 Stars'.

Wine critic Sam Kim has described Te Mata Estate as "New Zealand's finest wine grower" and "the maker of New Zealand's finest wines":

"When you consider the exceptional pedigree, the consistently high quality across all varietals and at every price point, Te Mata Estate is New Zealand’s best wine producer."

Te Mata Estate's Coleraine is the only New Zealand wine to receive back-to-back '100 Point' reviews.

In 2015 Decanter Magazine wine judge Bob Campbell MW named Coleraine his 'Favourite Wine of 2015'. In June 2016 Coleraine was listed in 'New Zealand's Top Three Wines' by Lisa Perotti-Brown MW of eRobertParker.com.

"When Coleraine was first made in 1982, it was light years ahead of any New Zealand red wine produced before that date. It has since become the country's most iconic wine label."

Neal Martin of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate wrote of Te Mata's Coleraine:

"I conjectured whether this is New Zealand's greatest wine? Well, let me put it this way, it is the front runner."

In 2016 Cape Crest Sauvingnon Blanc - a barrel ferment sauvignon semillion blend under cork and pioneered in New Zealand by Te Mata Estate - received 90+ Points from the Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and was named "one of the world's best barrel-fermented sauvignon blancs" by Australian wine critic Lester Jesberg. In 2016, after a dinner and vertical tasting of Coleraine at The Corinthian Hotel in London, Master of Wine Andy Howard of Decanter Magazine published a report placing Te Mata Estate as 'on par with the world's best wine producers.'

Te Mata Estate was responsible for founding the New Zealand Poet Laureate award in 1994, with the title in its first decade being the 'Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate'. The position is now administered by the New Zealand National Library. Each new New Zealand Poet Laureate still receives support from Te Mata Estate and is inaugurated near the winery at Matahiwi Marae. The first five Laureates received a tokotoko (or 'talking stick') carved from Te Mata's original wine press by Hawke's Bay artist and sculptor Jacob Scott.

Chairman John Buck and Technical Director Peter Cowley have an extensive history as critics and judges of wine competitions. Today, with a boutique production schedule and wines created to develop over many years, Te Mata seldom enters wines in competition - though there have been exceptions. In 1991 the International Wine Challenge awarded the 1989 Elston Chardonnay the trophy for 'Best White Wine in Show'. Elston Chardonnay was also served at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and bottles of Te Mata Estate Coleraine have been presented to both Queen Elizabeth II and Chinese President Xi Jinping by New Zealand's current Prime Minister John Key.

Te Mata Estate wines are currently available in 42 countries including China, UAE and the USA.

Only a limited amount of Coleraine is available from each vintage. When it is made the wine sells out very quickly. In 2016 a thirty-year vertical collection of Coleraine sold at auction for over $5,000 NZD. It is the first time any collection of aged New Zealand wine has been sold in this way.