Te Mata
Bullnose Syrah, Hawke’s Bay
First planted in 1990, the Bullnose Vineyard’s old red iron soils produce Te Mata Estate’s finest Syrah. These are New Zealand’s second oldest plantings of Syrah. This vineyard is blended with fruit from Te Mata’s Isosceles and Hotspur Vineyards which add structure and acidity to the finished wine. This wine has distinct floral and spice aromas, rich flavors of plum, raspberry and blackberry, with a velvety texture.
Separate parcels of fully ripened Syrah grapes were hand harvested from Te Mata Estate’s Bullnose, Isosceles and Hotspur Vineyards which lie within the Gimblett Gravels and Bridge PA Triangle sub-regions of Hawke's Bay.
The Te Mata team was one of the first to recognize the potential of the Gimblett Gravels sub-region for grape growing, an area where stony soils from the old Ngaruroro River were exposed after a flood in the 1860s. Today, the Gimblett Gravels has gained an international reputation for the complexity, depth and detail of its red wines.
The Bridge Pa Triangle has summer temperatures that are among the hottest in Hawke’s Bay. This long, dry heat, combined with free-draining silt loam over a red, mineral gravel base, make this a superb site for ripening red varietals.
- Region
- Hawke's Bay
- Appellation
- Hawke's Bay
- Varietal Composition
- Syrah
- Aging
- 16 months in seasoned French oak barriques.
- Alcohol
- 13.5%
Magnificent deep magenta, Bullnose entices with floral fragrance of lavender, violets and a dusting of cardamon and cinnamon developing on the palate into black cherry syrup, boysenberry and Turkish delight. Grace notes of char, truffle and pink peppercorns appear in layer upon layer of velvet tannins that run from front to back in the wine - extending the mid-palate presence into a long, sustained finish of saturated and spiced red berries.
Vinous
93 Points
2021
“Exotically spiced, leaving you half expecting a belly dancer to appear while you're drinking it. It is sweetly fruited while full of floral fragrance, cardamom, cinnamon and sandalwood. While it is richly fruited, it is not a big Syrah in terms of size. It does, however have motion and drive; the tannins are well-handled. Fragrant and long with sinew providing length and carrying its scent.”
— Rebecca Gibb, 2023
