THE WINERY: Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognized wines exclusively from its Hawke’s Bay vineyards, located on New Zealand’s North Island. Te Mata Estate is home to New Zealand’s oldest vineyards and wine cellars with over 125 years of continuous wine production.

THE WINE: First planted in 1999, Alma is the finest expression of Te Mata Estate’s commitment to great New Zealand Pinot Noir. 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.

The Alma Point Noir is a site specific, single vineyard wine from Te Mata Estate’s Woodthorpe Terraces Vineyard. The Woodthorpe Terraces Vineyard is a special place uniquely positioned for fine wine-growing with sandy loam over gravel soils left behind as the Tutaekuri River eroded its path through the hills to the sea.

Separate parcels of fully ripened pinot noir grapes were hand-harvested between February 15th and 23rd, 2021. Nestled between sheltering hills on a series of elevated, free-draining terraces that step down to the Tutaekuri River Valley – Woodthorpe Terraces is one of Hawke’s Bay’s hidden gems. This is an inland, elevated site with a greater diurnal temperature difference than other regions of Hawke’s Bay. This cooler site is home to 100% of Te Mata’s Pinot Noir, a total of 10HA, first planted in 1999.

A historically early vintage that was warm and dry produced low crops with tiny berries, creating exceptional wines with fragrance, tension, purity, power, and persistence… these are so appealing, the tricky part will be having the patience to enjoy them at their peak!

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 10 months’ maturation.

A captivating rose-red and crimson in the glass, Alma 2021 is immediately floral, with notes of lavender, peonies, wild strawberries, and ripe, red cherries. Woodsmoke, spice and incense meld into forest berries and rich black plums on a long, savory palate hanging on precise, concentrated, super-fine tannins. A wine of persistence, that overflows with appeal, Alma Pinot Noir 2021 is immediately enjoyable and endless in its enchantment.