Te Mata Estate Alma Pinot Noir Hawke's Bay 2021

Robert Parker  94+ pts

The 2021 Alma Pinot Noir leads with an aromatic splay of coffee grounds, black cherries, red apple skins and licorice. It’s incredibly aromatic in fact. You get wild strawberries, salted pomegranate, bramble, bay leaf, brine, a hint of truffle umami, wild lavender and spring florals. In the mouth, a skein of very finely textured mineral tannin shapes the fruit, and there are inflections of Korean mint and thyme. I expect this will unfurl over the next day or so. A beauty. Matured in barrel for 11 months (33% new). 

I tasted with winemaker Phil Brodie, who gave me the following viticulture and winemaking details: The Pinot Noir grapes are ENTAV clone and 828 and 943 clones. This is the first vintage to include this young vine material: two canes, one bunch per shoot, shoulder removal. They manipulated the canopy, opening the east side, retaining finer aromatics. The grapes were whole-bunch sorted, destemmed in the winery, cold soaked at eight degrees Celsius and started fermenting wild, then sequentially inoculated. The cap was plunged twice a day. On approximately day 21, the juice was pressed off and left to settle overnight. Then, it went into barrel on gross solids, with a cooling down once in barrel, unsulfured and with a delayed malolactic fermentation until the following summer, which was cold, to inhibit malo and to make sure there was no corruption of the wine. There is a tweak of UC Davis Clone 5 and some Abel in there too. They changed the oak and seasoning of the barrels, reducing the toast.

James Suckling  93 pts

A fragrant nose of oolong tea, baked strawberries, violet and porcini. Medium- to full-bodied with silky, fine tannins. Seamless and steady with a concentrated fruit core that grounds the palate and a savory character that adds intrigue and complexity. A hint of fig and lavender. Earthy and mineral finish. Sustainable. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

The Wine Front  91 pts