Te Mata Estate Alma Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir 2019

Te Mata Estate Alma Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir 2019French oak Dark plum Spice Fine tannin "Raspberry and dried roses something a bit on the savoury side, cinnamon and vanilla. Medium bodied, a juicy uptake of red fruit and maybe a little baked plum. Tannin is fine grained and set well inside the wine, a smattering of dried herb too, some mineral feel to the acidity, and good length, a little bitter orange as it goes. Has some finesse for a HB Pinot, though veers a little into dry red territory. Nice

• French oak
• Dark plum
• Spice
• Fine tannin

"Raspberry and dried roses ... something a bit on the savoury side, cinnamon and vanilla. Medium-bodied, a juicy uptake of red fruit and maybe a little baked plum. Tannin is fine-grained and set well inside the wine, a smattering of dried herb too, some ‘mineral’ feel to the acidity, and good length, a little bitter orange as it goes. Has some finesse for a HB Pinot, though veers a little into ‘dry red’ territory. Nice wine all up." Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, Oct 2020

"Expressing precision and poise, the wine shows perfumed aromas of sweet cherry, floral and warm spice with spicy oak nuances. The palate delivers delectably juicy fruit flavours together with soothing mouthfeel and savoury undertones backed by fine tannins, leading to a gorgeously long seductive finish. At its best: 2023 to 2032" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Feb 2021

"Moderately concentrated pinot noir with plum, dark berry, savoury, roasted chestnut, mixed spice and black pepper flavours. A suggestion of floral characters add appeal. A supple, structured wine that should age well" Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, Mar 2021

"Very ripe, fresh, fruit centric, varietal, with fresh red berries, some carbonic suggestions, Beaune village thoughts come to mind. Raspberry and red cherry. Dry, tense, focused and youthful on the palate. Great mouthfeel with some savoury elements showing alongside the core of fruit. Specific cooperage releases appealing flavours and textures of oak" Cameron Douglas MS, Feb 2021

Saturated, dark crimson, Alma Pinot Noir ’19 has an enticing nose of pomegranate, raspberry and black cherry syrup. Mineral and savoury notes – orange peel, peppercorns and sage – all glide across a serene surface of dark, fine tannin and lush ripe fruit. Alma Pinot Noir ’19 is structural. This is a wine of scope and horizons. Its depths are balanced by a lingering fruit acid tension that gives the wine a balletic level of poise, energy and grace.

First planted in 1999, Alma is the finest expression of Te Mata Estate's commitment to great New Zealand Pinot Noir. Alma expresses brooding cherry and delicious ripe, dark plum flavours that unfurl with savoury wildwood scents of truffle and spice.

Separate parcels of fully ripened pinot noir grapes were hand-harvested from Te Mata Estate’s Woodthorpe Vineyards between 7 and 18 March 2019.

The individual lots were each destemmed and given a traditional warm-plunged fermentation. The resulting wines underwent extended maceration on skins before pressing. The separate wines were then run to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barriques for 11 months’ maturation.

Alma celebrates Dr James Thomson, a hero of the 1854 Battle of the Alma during the Crimean War and forefather to Te Mata Estate’s Buck family. Knowing the vanquished enemy soldiers had already contracted cholera, Dr Thomson volunteered to tend to their wounds, saving the lives of over four hundred, and sacrificing his own in the process. The medal he was awarded for this selfless act of valour appears on the label of Alma Pinot Noir.

Alma Pinot Noir ’19 is closed with a ‘Diam’ cork, which eliminates any possibility of cork taint, allowing continued evolution in bottle for six years from harvest.

Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognised wines exclusively from its historic, Hawke's Bay Vineyards.