2007 Coleraine
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Tasting notes
The 2007 Coleraine initially has a tighter, less expressive bouquet than the 2004, demands more coaxing though there is a similar fruit profile with blackberry, cedar and perhaps a touch more pressed flowers. Impressive delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with finely sculpted tannins that carry layers of mulberry and blackcurrant fruit, allspice and Chinese 5-spice. This is very detailed on the finish with gentle grip: a wonderful Coleraine that will give 15, perhaps even 20 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted from a bottle shipped directly from the estate at the Coleraine vertical in London.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc. Hand-picked 4 to 24 April. Very dry season. TA 5.7 g/l, pH 3.54. Tasted at 18 years old, this was delightfully mellow with no sign of the tannins that presumably marked this wine in its youth. Sweet and refreshing with a fine core of ripe cassis fruit. (JR)
The 2007 Coleraine is silky and chalky on the palate, with redcurrants, pink peppercorns, a sway of hung deli meat and raw cocoa and layers of graphite and cooling minerals. It is distinctly savory, light and fine. The wine's defining and most attractive feature is its tannic structure, neatly tucked into the oak, which at this point, and at all points of its evolution, feels seamlessly supportive. It doesn't have some of the complexity of the younger vintages, yet it remains a beautiful wine. The blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc.
Probably the first Merlot-dominant Coleraine apparently. This was the wine that put Hawke’s Bay Bordeaux blends on the map. Refined and tight and very youthful. Quite bordelais. A bit sour. (JR)