Te Mata
Alma Pinot Noir, Hawke’s Bay
Alma is the finest expression of Te Mata Estate’s commitment to great New Zealand Pinot Noir. Alma honors Dr James Thomson, a hero of the 1854 Battle of the Alma and forebear of Te Mata Estate’s Buck family. A surgeon during the Crimean War, Thomson volunteered to treat wounded enemy soldiers stricken with cholera, saving more than 400 lives and ultimately sacrificing his own. The medal awarded for this extraordinary act of courage is depicted 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.
Woodthorpe Terraces is nestled between sheltering hills on elevated, free-draining, north-facing terraces in Hawke’s Bay Dartmoor Valley. The soils, which were left behind as the Tutaekuri River eroded its path through the hills to the sea, are mainly alluvial stone, clay, and sandy loam.
- Region
- Hawke's Bay
- Appellation
- Hawke's Bay
- Varietal Composition
- Pinot Noir
- Aging
- 10 months in a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barrels; predominately Saint Martin and Mercurey (38% new).
- Alcohol
- 13.5%
The Alma Pinot Noir shows a vibrant cherry-red hue with a purple tint and expressive aromas of redcurrant, strawberry, raspberry, and fresh prune, layered with violet, thyme, sage, and chai spice. The palate is velvety and balanced, with dark cherry and ripe plum flavors framed by powdery tannins and subtle notes of licorice and mulberry, finishing long and spiced.
James Suckling
95 Points
2024
"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."
— 2025
