Te Mata Estate Bullnose Syrah

Produced every year since 1992 (except in ’94 when a huge hailstorm wiped out all the grapes, gutted), Te Mata Estates Bullnose Syrah is simply world class Syrah and a prime example why this variety is fast becoming the next hottest thing in NZ wine.

An absolute must for your cellar collection (or heck, just drink it now) and with available stocks paper thin you’ll have to be quick. This is a special cellar release from the 2020 vintage with the usual rave reviews from local critics…

98/100 (Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review)
“Deep, purple-tinted syrah with a wonderfully fine-grained, perfectly-pitched texture. Flavours include cassis, plum, dark berries, anise, black pepper, floral and red rose together with spicy oak. A very impressive wine.”

5 Stars, 98/100 (Sam Kim)
“This is brimming with gorgeous aromas of Black Doris plum, violet, warm spice and toasted almond on the nose, leading to a concentrated palate offering rich texture and plush mouthfeel. It’s powerful and imposing while remaining gracious and captivating, beautifully framed by fine grainy tannins, finishing persistent and immensely satisfying. At its best: 2024 to 2040”

5 Stars (Michael Cooper)
“This is a great Bullnose, Dark and highly perfumed, it is full-bodied, with youthful, beautifully ripe blackcurrant, plum and black-pepper flavours, showing impressive freshness and density, and a backbone of supple, fine-grained tannins.”

95/100 (Cam Douglas MS)
“A brilliant deep purple hued and polished appearance with a palate filled with minerals of clay and stone, violets and blank currants, dark cherry and fleshy baked raspberry fruit, suggestions of milk chocolate before the spices and toasty qualities of new French oak fold in. Tannins are in abundance with a polished texture, acidity carries flavour, intensity, and mouthfeel. A delicious wine, lengthy, dry and complex. Best drinking from late 2023 through 2030.”

The best food matches here would be NZ lamb and game, or firm cheeses. If you’re wondering where the name comes from – it’s not named after a bull (or a nose!) but an early Morris Cowley car. Apparently the car’s radiator crest looks like a bull, which is the emblem they’ve slapped on the Bullnose label.