Te Motu Waiheke Island 2013

When Terry Dunleavy and his family purchased 12 ha of land in the Onetangi Valley on Waiheke Island in 1988, to plant vines, they joined a select group aspiring to make great Bordeaux variety-based wine. There have been a number of stellar wines on the way, including the inaugural 1993 vintage. Nowadays it’s the next generation that is running the operation, with Sam Dunleavy taking over the viticulture and winemaking from his father John, who was there from the beginning. Rory Dunleavy is responsible for the marketing and sales, his father Paul still in the position of managing director. Te Motu has approx. 5.5 ha of vines with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc making the larger part of the plantings, with Malbec, Carmenere and Syrah completing the plantings. Almost all of the annual 1,000 case production comes from estate vines, the proportion of flagship ‘Te Motu’, Merlot dominant ‘Kokoro’, Cabernet Franc-based ‘Tipua’ and ‘Dunleavy’ bottlings varying according to the vintage. 2013 was a particularly favourable year, which Sam Dunleavy describes as "one of the best Waiheke has seen” with "perfect harvest conditions”. Here, I review the 2013 Te Motu. www.temotu.co.nz