KIWI WINE NOW A ‘WINE LEGEND’

Te Mata Estate's Coleraine ’98 has been named a ‘Wine Legend’ in the August Issue of UK's top wine magazine Decanter, placing it amongst the greatest wines of all time.

The only New Zealand wine to receive the title, Decanter’s profile situates Te Mata Estate’s flagship Coleraine beside other ‘Wine Legends’ more than ten times its price.

Garnering immediate international praise, Coleraine ’98 was available for $75 NZD at release and today sells for more than $250 NZD. Previous Decanter Wine Legends include Domaine de la Romanée-Conti ’78, Château Haut-Brion ’29, Château Lafite-Rothschild ’59 and Ridge Monte Bello ’70.

Describing Coleraine as ‘the most avidly collected of New Zealand red wines’, Decanter’s piece has already prompted feedback to the winery from Coleraine fans worldwide. (See attached.) Te Mata Estate’s Nick Buck commented:

“This is lovely recognition for Coleraine and for Coleraine collectors everywhere. I’m sure they’ll love knowing they’ve got such great wine in their cellar. Of even greater importance to us is the connection that it gives them, back to the unique people and place that produces such an outstanding wine.”

In 2016, Decanter’s Master of Wine Andy Howard described Te Mata Estate as ‘New Zealand’s First Growth’, putting the winery on par with the world’s top French wine producers:

‘Many critics consider Coleraine up there with the best Bordeaux blends in the world. The original intention may have been to mirror the top Cru Classé but, today, Coleraine has evolved its own style.’

Coleraine ‘15 is the most recent vintage, released in March of this year. Australian wine critic Gary Walsh of The Wine Front compared it to Australia’s Penfold’s Grange:

'New Zealand’s Grange equivalent, only Coleraine comes from one place, is much cheaper, and to my tastes, is significantly better and more interesting.’

Te Mata Coleraine ’13, ’14 and ’15 have all sold out from the winery within weeks of their release. Te Mata’s Coleraine, as well as its Bullnose Syrah, were both listed in the TOP 50 WINES OF THE WORLD by US wine critic James Suckling. Demand for recent vintages has soared.

Coleraine ’16 - marking 120 years of winemaking at Te Mata Estate - is available on 1 March 2018.