• French oak
• Red cherry & plum
• Five spice & truffle
• Fine polished tannins

"Bright, delicately aromatic pinot noir with cassis, dark plum, violet, wood smoke and quite prominent spicy oak. The wine has an appealing purity and seamlessness. It delivers power with consummate subtlety. Accessible now but promises to age gracefully" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jan 2022

"Gorgeously seductive and perfumed, the bouquet shows red cherry, floral, thyme and warm spice aromas with a hint of mushroom complexity. The palate offers impressive substance and seamless flow, beautifully complemented by fleshy texture and fine polished tannins. Superbly harmonious and multi-layered with a prolonged velvety finish. Best: 2023 to 2034" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Feb 2022

"This deep-ruby, scented, softly mouthfilling red is notably savoury, with rich ripe, complex cherry, plum and spice flavours, well-rounded and lingering. In a "blind" tasting, I would pick Martinborough as the region of origin" Michael Cooper, Listener Magazine, Feb 2022

Brilliant crimson with a royal purple edge, Alma Pinot Noir ’20 has an entrancing nose of wild strawberry and cherry syrup, oriental spice, sea salt and woodsmoke. The complex palate deepens into five spice, truffle, and earth notes, with just the slightest fragrance of Earl Grey tea. Bright red fruit sparkles among a filigree of tannin. Alma Pinot Noir ’20 has presence and persistence throughout, with prettiness at its heart. Alma Pinot Noir ’20 is closed with a ‘Diam’ cork, which eliminates any possibility of cork taint, allowing continued evolution in bottle for six years from harvest.

Separate parcels of fully ripened pinot noir grapes were hand-harvested from Te Mata Estate’s Woodthorpe Vineyards between 26 and 29 February 2020.

The individual lots were each destemmed and given a traditional warm-plunged fermentation. The resulting wines underwent extended maceration on skins before pressing. The separate wines were then run to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barriques for 11 months’ maturation.

Alma celebrates Dr James Thomson, a hero of the 1854 Battle of the Alma during the Crimean War and forefather to Te Mata Estate’s Buck family. Knowing the vanquished enemy soldiers had already contracted cholera, Dr Thomson volunteered to tend to their wounds, saving the lives of over four hundred, and sacrificing his own in the process. The medal he was awarded for this selfless act of valour appears on the label of Alma Pinot Noir.