'Very elegant red with a great texture and dense, concentrated floral, berry, fresh herb and subtle oak flavours. Appealing fruit sweetness is perfectly balanced by fine tannins that give the wine backbone and some longevity, although it's deliciously accessible now. A serious red at a frivolous price" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Nov 2017

"Dark, deep, black-hearted red, a little lighter on the rim. The nose is elegantly concentrated with ripe blackberry and blackcurrant fruit aromas with nuances of tobacco and lifted oak. The aromatic are deep and intense, with breadth and proportion. Medium-full bodied, the palate possesses deeply concentrated, ripe flavours of blackberries, blackcurrants and dark-red plums. Complexing herb, tobacco and aromatic oak detail add complexing interest. The fruit is supported by very fine-grained, but considerable tannin extraction providing body, depth and a core of presence. The acidity is softly ripe and fine, and balanced with the textures. This has a completeness and the balance lends approachability. The wine has a very long, lingering sweet finish, unveiling cassis elements. This is beautifully ripe and balanced for keeping 8-10 years. A blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc, the fruit from Havelock and the ‘Bullnose’ vineyard, hand-picked and fermented to 14.0% alc., the wine aged 16 months in 30% new French oak." Raymond Chan, March 2017

"Dark berry, plum, cigar box and floral characters with subtle mixed spice notes. Beautifully supple and ripe, and offers gorgeous fruit intensity together with subtle oak undertones and spicy complexity, brilliantly supported by polished tannins. Approachable and friendly at the same time. Proper and refined, beautifully detailed and composed." Sam Kim, Wine Orbit. March 2017.

Awatea is the little black dress of wine. Perfect for every occasion. Exquisitely tailored. A brilliant bright-purple edge swirls around lush aromas of blackberry, blueberry, bay leaf and an opulent, sumptuous core of ripe, dark fruit shimmering with dark plum, black cherry and fine liquorice entwined with lingering, milk chocolate tannins. Never a stitch out of place, with style and elegance in every fold. Awatea ’15 is fine wine couture.

The grapes for Awatea ’15 were hand harvested from Te Mata Estate’s vineyards between 28 March and 17 April 2015.

The separate parcels of grapes were destemmed before a traditional warm, plunged fermentation and extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were then run to new and seasoned French oak barrels for 16 months’ ageing. Throughout this time, they were regularly topped and racked. The separate wines were blended in January 2016, then returned to barrel for their second winter. The finished wine was then egg white fined and bottled in November 2016. The final blend is 46% cabernet sauvignon, 43% merlot, 11% cabernet franc.

Awatea takes its name from the historic ship SS Awatea (a Maori word meaning “Eye of the Dawn”) that sailed the Auckland – Sydney – Wellington route in the late 1930s. The Awatea was requisitioned as a troop transport in WWII and was sunk off Algeria in 1942.