Te Mata Alma Pinot Noir
Te Mata Alma Pinot Noir
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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.
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.
2019: 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.
Wine Advocate 95: The 2022 Alma Pinot Noir is supple and ripe, with an infusion of silty tannins and black tea. This is a gorgeous wine, totally svelte and structural at once, populated by a saturation of red fruits. There are pomegranate pearls, pink peppercorns, poached strawberry and even a hint of sumac. This is delicious. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
James Suckling 92: Dried and fresh strawberries with cherries and hints of orange peel. Medium body, fine tannins and a firm and silky-textured finish. Hints of sliced oranges. A rather linear pinot. Drink or hold.
James Suckling 95: Smoky aromas of fresh and dried strawberries with orange peel follow through to a medium- to full-bodied palate. Lightly dry tannins frame the wine beautifully. So savory. Solid and structured yet highly approachable at the end. Drink or hold.
Decanter 94: Expressive perfume with black plum, cherries, wild raspberry, violets and plenty of baking spices, a pleasing savoury note threaded beneath. Densely fruited, savoury, elegant and quite tightly wound, with fine but slightly chewy tannins. Oak is nicely interwoven with fruit, acid and tannins. Long. Quite a polished style, with a sense of careful crafting.
Wine Enthusiast 97: 2024 marked the 40th anniversary of Coleraine, this 130 year old winery's most premium label. And what a vintage it was! A Cab-dominated Bordeaux blend, it springs forth with vivid blue and red fruit aromas, intertwined with tobacco, tea tree, chocolate chip, cedar and iodine. A powerful grip of ripe, savory, cat's tongue tannins envelop the mouth, but not before the juicy fruit lubricates. Classic iron fist-in-velvet glove territory with a unique sense of place and people. Drink now and over the next several decades.