Cabernet/Merlot, Awatea, 2019, Hawkes Bay, Te Mata Estate

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.

Ink-dark crimson, Awatea Cabernets/Merlot ’18 glimmers with bright raspberry, cherry and blackberry sparkling over mocha, cedar and spice. Always a favourite expression of fine Hawke’s Bay cabernet, Awatea from 2017 is refreshing and moreish as well as typically elegant. Aromas of red and dark berry fruit, flashes of boysenberry and espresso on the palate, and a classical, super-fine, tannin structure running through to its long finish make Awatea Cabernets/Merlot ’18 a true star. Trying this first is a good way to approach Coleraine, the winery’s flagship wine and consistently one of New Zealand’s very best reds.

Closed with a natural cork that will allow Awatea to continue to evolve in bottle and provide great enjoyment up to 10 years from harvest.