The Te Mata ‘Awatea’ Cabernets/Merlot 2008 at 13.5% alc, was 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot, aged 20 months in new and seasoned French oak.  Dark, deep, black-red with purple hues, this was elegant on nose with lovely fragrant blackcurrant aromas, quite pure in expression and supported by subtle oak.  An elegant wine in mouthfeel, this was still tight with fine-grained tannins behind pure blackcurrant varietal fruit, beautifully knit and balanced.  This will cellar well over the next 7-10 years. 18.0-/20 Raymond Chan (NZ)

Strong, sweet fruit with plump, ripe berry, plum, spice, tobacco and floral flavours. An impressively dense wine with layers of flavours that nicely envelope a classy oak influence. Accessible and very attractive. Top 100 New Releases; Bob Campbell; Gourmet Traveller Wine

Little brother to Te Mata’s flagship Coleraine, and a more expressive reflection of its vintage. A particularly fragrant season shines through in lifted blackcurrant and rose petal nuances. A wine of finesse and integration, it’s drinking well now, but don’t hesitate to put a few down for the medium-term. Tyson Stelzer; Vintage 2008 RRP $46.00; Wine Business Monthly

I didn’t mean to taste/consume this Te Mata Awatea cabernet blend over three nights – daughter’s callisthenics concert, son’s birthday sleepover, dad’s recuperation from the two – but I’m glad I did. Kept getting better and better. It’s easy to be anti-oak, but when it tastes as good as it does here – I mean, really, let’s not fuss about it. It tastes gorgeous. Its cedary, smoky characters are matched of course to dusty, chewy, blueberry and blackcurrant flavours and best of all, it has a dry, tobacco-like edge. It’s fresh and polished and acidic; it needs a good lie down. Tannin is ripe and bold. All told, a classy wine. 93 Points; Alcohol : 13.5% Closure : Cork Drink : 2013 - 2019; Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front