Te Mata "Awatea" Hawke's Bay Red Blend 2018

Wine Enthusiast : 95 Points

(5/1/2021) This is an excellent bottling of Awatea, the younger brother of Te Mata's top red, Coleraine. From a long, warm growing season, this feels like a complete wine. Winter warming notes of plump plums, dark cherries and chocolate are complemented by a bounty of dried herbs, spices and graphite. The palate is similarly dense and structured but with elegance and balance. Tannins are powdery and fine, winding through dark, tangy fruit and herbs. Like many of Te Mata's wines, it has an old school Bordeaux vibe that will appeal more to some than to others.

Wine Advocate : 92 Points

(6/17/2021) A blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Awatea Cabernets-Merlot is a bit leafy on the nose, with herbal, tobacco-tinged aromas accenting cassis and black cherries. It's medium to full-bodied and supple on the palate, finishing long, silky and mouthwatering. Drink Date: 2020 - 2030.

James Suckling : 93 Points

(12/7/2020) There’s a very attractive, cedary edge to this with red cherries, redcurrants and blueberries, as well as darker plum and cocoa notes. The palate is so composed and fresh and has a vivid, detailed and neatly layered feel. Drinks well now, as it will for the next six to eight years.

Vinous - Rebecca Gibb MW : 92 Points

(3/2021) From the home of New Zealand's most famous Bordeaux-style blend, Coleraine, its sibling Awatea is always consistent in offering classic Bordeaux aromas and flavors with the rich vibrancy of the Southern Hemisphere - and with a reasonable price tag. This offers classy, primary fruit with cassis, dried raspberries and plum richness allied with a cool Cabernet Sauvignon expression that's herbal, verging on spearmint, while the Franc proportion offers pencil-lead-like characters. Integrated oak-derived flavors of cedar from 16 months in French oak, as well as tobacco, ensure this is a more serious expression. Fine, grainy tannins linger on the lengthy finish. The final blend is 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc. Drinking Window: 2021 - 2030.