Te Mata – A National Treasure

amy thurlow

National Treasures come in all shapes and sizes and in this case, flavours from the the oldest wine property in the country. Established in 1896, Te Mata is New Zealand’s original fine wine estate. Recently described by jancisrobinson.com as ‘A national treasure’, Te Mata Estate produces wines grown, hand-harvested, fermented, and bottled entirely on their nineteenth-century Hawke’s Bay estate.

And 124 years later in 2020, it’s fair to say that things have been a bit of a basketcase for many industries and sectors, but believe it or not there have actually been some positives that have come out of 2020 also. For Hawkes Bay wine producers, a hot dry summer has produced outstanding quality grapes. In a recent interview with BayBuzz, the chief executive of Te Mata Estate, Nick Buck, said that, “‘18, ’19, and ’20 have been amazing. We thought ’19 was amongst the best vintages we’ve seen, then along came ’20, and we’re blown away by the quality. The ‘20s are the most concentrated wines we’ve seen in the 46 years my family’s run Te Mata. It’s hard to pick a stand out variety as the quality is so strong across the board.”