2020 Te Mata, Awatea Cabernets / Merlot, 6x750ml
54% Cabernet Sauvignon,
34% Merlot & 12% Cabernet Franc
34% Merlot & 12% Cabernet Franc
Availability: 4 weeks
Case size: 6 / Bottle size: 750ml
Duty Status
From £114.00
Critics Score: 95
Publication: Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
Drinking Dates: 2023-2035
Initially tight as a monkey's nuts, the very young 2020 Awatea needs time to open up and reveal its creamy, seductive personality. Tasted alongside the already impressive 2019 Awatea, the 2020 goes a step further in its substance, depth and ripeness. It has a rich mid-palate of sweet black currant, black olives and mint, but it's all tremendously creamy. Underneath the lush exterior, an abundance of fine yet structured powdery tannins combine with fine acidity to provide the architecture for this intense wine. Offering excellent persistence, structure and scent, the 2020 has knocked it out of the park. Best Awatea ever? You might be looking at it.
ORIGIN
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 troop transport in WWII and was sunk off Algeria
in 1942.
VINEYARDS
The grapes for Awatea ’20 were hand harvested from Te Mata Estate’s vineyards
between 19 March and 1 April 2020.
WINEMAKING
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 ageing. Throughout this time, they were
regularly topped and racked. The separate wines were blended in January, then returned
to barrel for their second winter. The finished wine was then egg white fined and
bottled in November 2021. The final blend is 54% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot and
12% 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 troop transport in WWII and was sunk off Algeria
in 1942.
VINEYARDS
The grapes for Awatea ’20 were hand harvested from Te Mata Estate’s vineyards
between 19 March and 1 April 2020.
WINEMAKING
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 ageing. Throughout this time, they were
regularly topped and racked. The separate wines were blended in January, then returned
to barrel for their second winter. The finished wine was then egg white fined and
bottled in November 2021. The final blend is 54% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot and
12% cabernet franc.