Thanks to the team at Te Mata Estate we were able to run our “The Sum vs. The Components” tasting again this year. With pure varietals from the 2008 vintage that will be the components of the Te Mata Bordeaux blends we had a unique opportunity to look at how a wine maker can produce a Sum that is more than its Component parts. As well we tried some of the past blends from Te Mata to see what they have aimed for in blending.

The Components:

Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (from Havelock North vineyards)

This was the stand out wine among the component varieties. There was a most attractive cassis and cedar/oak nose which was intense and perfectly matched to the brilliant, intense purple/red colour. It was a classic example of young Cabernet Sauvignon aroma. The palate was all ripe fruit with plenty of tannin and acid combined with great power. In such a young wine (the components are still months away from being combined in a blend) there are rough edges and a bit of harshness but this component suggests Cabernet Sauvignon is going to be a good proportion of the blend in Te Mata’s top 2008 wines.

Merlot 2008 (from Havelock North vineyards)

The Merlot was just as expected, a softer fruitier nose with the traditional pluminess of Merlot. Again the colour was an intense purple/red. On the palate it has nice tannin, ripe fruit and plenty of acid but without the power of the Cabernet Sauvignon. This was the component that had a touch of mineral character described by some as like Irish Moss. I thought that it had just a touch of volatility. As a component it was obvious that this could be used to soften out the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cabernet Franc 2008 (from Havelock North vineyards)

This was again a softer wine with limited tannin and a juicy character. It did not have the vibrant character of the Cabernet Sauvignon and it had the least appealing nose of the four components. The palate showed nice ripe fruit and good intensity. This was clearly another option for softening the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Petit Verdot 2008 (Woodthorpe vineyard)

True to its reputation the Petit Verdot was an intense purple/black colour and it had a very fragrant nose that was a surprise to me. This was a really attractive wine with peppery and spicy characters that suggested it could add some complexity to the blend. I thought that this was a fine example of Petit Verdot.

The Blends:

Te Mata Woodthorpe Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Blended from: Merlot 57%, Cabernet Sauvignon 18%, Cabernet Franc 16%, Petit Verdot 9%.

This is Te Mata’s third level Bordeaux blend and their largest selling wine. It has an attractive nose with some cassis and soft oak combined with the dominant plummy character. The palate was soft and approachable but had nice fruit and moderate length. At three years old it is probably just about at its best as this is clearly aimed at early drinking. This is a clear example of the winemaker aiming for an approachable blend that does not need to be cellared to show its best.

Te Mata Awatea 2002

This wine caused a major split in our members. For quite a few it was the best wine of the evening with the aged characters showing on both the nose and palate. I was in the second group who thought that it had not kept. (A quick try of the two bottles we used did not show much difference between them.) For me it had developed an off-character that swamped the fruit and tannin both on the palate and on the nose.

Te Mata Awatea 2006

Blended from 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 38% Merlot and 11% Petit Verdot

This was every thing that would be expected of a top quality Hawke’s Bay Bordeaux blend. There was a lovely cassis nose with balanced cedar wood and still a beautiful youthful purple. This nose was just starting to show the change from fresh fruity young aromas to the more developed bouquet of dried fruit and cigar box. It is a nicely balanced wine but with plenty of restrained power and the potential to age well. It was quite obvious that this wine is intended to improve with age and that we were drinking it before its best.

Blending

So what of our attempts at blending? Not surprisingly they tended to fall into two groups, some based on Cabernet Sauvignon that were austere styles needing time to soften out and some based on Merlot that were much softer and immediately attractive. My observations based on personal efforts and those around me were:

Softening out the Cabernet Sauvignon with mainly Merlot was more successful than with more Cabernet Franc. The latter flattened out the lovely nose of the Cabernet Sauvignon too much. A decent measure of Petit Verdot gave some added characters and helped to maintain the lovely nose. For an ageing style then perhaps 50-60% C.S. with about 25% Merlot and rather more P.V. than C.F. seemed close to the money for me. For a softer early maturing style reversing the proportions of Merlot and C.S. seemed the way that most went.

A great fun evening doing something quite different to our regular tasting evenings and thanks to Te Mata Estate for providing the wines at some considerable effort.

Clearview Cape Kidnappers Merlot 2006, $19.72

Merlot with Malbec – we can assume less than 15% Malbec as it is not mentioned on the label

2006 was a very good vintage in Hawke’s Bay and this was a nice example of a Merlot made in a early drinking style. It had a deep purple hue, with plenty of good ripe fruit on the nose. It was a bit more austere and chewy than expected for this style but had good length and just a touch of oak and complexity. Despite the early drinking style might be better in a year or two. Maybe the slightly cooler Te Awanga area contributed this character.

Esk Valley Black Label Merlot 2006, $19.97

100% Merlot

The Esk Valley was made from Gimblett Gravels fruit. Even deeper purple in colour, it had the appearance of a very young wine with aromas of plum and even floral. The palate was much more rounded with the classic Merlot velvety mouth feel and a touch of mineral. This wine also had good length but was more attractive as a drink now proposition, two of our members rating it best of the night on this score.

Red Rock Gravel Pit Red 2006, $17.99

“Mostly Merlot with a seasoning of Malbec” – could mean anything (no varietal labelling) but count on reputable producer to mean what they say

From the Gimblett Gravels this wine also had a deep intense purple colour but the nose had quite a bit of oak (courtesy of a bit of new oak?) to go with the fruit aromas. This was a more complex wine with plenty of power and length on the palate to complement the ripe fruit and nice acid. The wine had the smooth mouth filling character expected of a Merlot. This was equal first as the best to drink now.

CJ Pask Roy’s Hill Merlot 2006, $15

100% Merlot

This wine is from the Gimblett Gravels where Pask was the first winery to plant grapes. The colour was a rather less intense purple/ruby. The nose was powerful and had some developed wood and dried fruit bouquet characters as opposed to the youthful aromas of the first three. The Plumy and mouth filling palate made this an easy drinking style and was best to drink now by two members.

Mission Estate Reserve Merlot 2005, $19.99 on special

87% Merlot, 7% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon

This was produced from fruit sourced in Te Awanga, Gimblett Gravels and Dartmoor. The colour was deep purple/black and the nose had great depth of fruit with nice oak in a somewhat developed style. It is still a very young wine with weight on the palate that is rounded and balanced, finishing with good length. This wine was quite clearly produced in a slower developing style, with 50% new oak, and a deliberate attempt to build complexity.

CJ Pask Declaration Merlot 2004, $48

100% Merlot

Produced from Gimblett Gravels grapes and blended from fruit grown on the best clay rich sites in the Pask vineyard. It had a very intense deep purple colour. There was lovely “cedar box” oak and a bouquet of dried fruit on the nose. On the palate it was notable for its power combined with velvety rounded fruit and good length. Despite being four year old the wine still has a few years to integrate fully and show its best. Gold medal standard. This wine scored the second most votes for wine of the night and was also equal first as best to drink now.

Craggy Range Sophia 2004, $49.90

92% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon

Produced from Gimblett Gravels fruit. The colour was very intense purple. The nose was still very much toward the young berry fruit aromas but with great intensity and balanced oak. Even more so than the Pask this wine was notable for its power but it has all the balance between ripe fruit, tannin and acid to suggest development into a complex and elegant aged wine. This was starting to integrate but is still not ready to drink and it just piped the Declaration for wine of the night. Gold medal standard

Mills Reef Elspeth Merlot 2005, $33.99 on special ($44 regular)

100% Merlot

This was produced from much younger Gimglett Gravel vines, (6-7 years). Again the wine was a deep purple but the nose was quite different. There was an obvious mineral/iodine character that seems more characteristic of Syrah wine but this came with lovely fruit and oak. On the palate it was mouth filling, complex, quite aggressive and full of nice ripe fruit. This wine was perhaps the most complex style of the night and it was third “favourite” for wine of the night. Gold medal standard.

This was an interesting evening which demonstrated the wide range of styles that can be produced from one variety even when they are produced in the same region. We could not look for a better example of why saying “I love (or hate) Merlot” is so pointless. As with all other wine varieties it is individual wines or styles which appeal to us, not whole classes of wines from some particular variety.

For me it also demonstrated that Hawke’s Bay produces great Merlots that show just how classical this variety is. Fortunately for us consumers however they are desperately unfashionable and therefore tremendous value for money. According to Vino Fino Hawke’s Bay reds and Merlot in particular are almost unsaleable in Christchurch!! More fool Christchurch I say.