Havelock North wine enthusiast Stuart Tustin's 37-bottle collection of every Te Mata Estate Coleraine vintage produced in the last 40 years could be worth thousands in auction, all of which will go to Cranford Hospice. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction
Havelock North wine enthusiast Stuart Tustin's 37-bottle collection of every Te Mata Estate Coleraine vintage produced in the last 40 years could be worth thousands in auction, all of which will go to Cranford Hospice. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction
Joining one-off pieces from noted artists, high-flying holiday and dining experiences, and elegant wine tastings up for grabs at the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction 2024, is the largest collection of prestigious Te Mata Estate Coleraine vintages ever seen there.
Havelock North wine enthusiast Stuart Tustin donated his rare complete 37-bottle collection of Te Mata Estate Coleraine spanning 40 years, from the first 1982 vintage to the 2021 vintage.
The years 1992, 1993 and 2012 were non-producing, which means that the wine did not meet Te Mata Estate’s high quality standard to produce Coleraine.
One of New Zealand’s most iconic wines, Coleraine has a history of creating a stir and setting national records in the handful of times it has appeared in the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction’s more than 30-year history.
A 32-vintage collection of Coleraine from 1982 to 2016 fetched $19,000 at the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction 2018, setting a new record for the highest auction price achieved for any collection of New Zealand wine.
Te Mata Estate chief executive Nick Buck at the time said Coleraine collections were rare and he only knew of five verticals (a collection of the same wine from different years) that had ever been offered for sale at that point.
Tustin, a horticultural scientist who worked in plant and food research, never set out to create his “fantastic collection” but said he developed an affinity with Coleraine and purchased some directly from Te Mata Estate every year it released, keeping one bottle from each vintage out of habit.
“I was pretty excited when Te Mata Estate, in its modern version with [the] Buck and Morris families, first got going so I just followed them with great interest because I thought they had some really interesting goals with what they were trying to do in terms of making a classic Bordeaux style,” Tustin said.
Over time, he began wondering what to do with his collection and decided to donate the bottles to a good cause after it became clear he could never break it up.
“With the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction, which I have followed with interest over the years, I just thought a great way to get rid of this burden would be to try and use it to raise some money for the hospice and give someone, somewhere the opportunity to buy a collection that is pretty rare.”
He hesitated to set any expectations for how much his collection might get due to the unpredictable nature of auctions.
General manager Samantha Kershaw said that this was the largest Coleraine collection ever at the auction and, although she could not say with certainty, she could not find evidence of any Coleraine collection of this size having gone up for auction before.
“I think it will resonate with wine lovers and wine collectors how special this is and how unique and rare an opportunity it is to purchase a four-decade vertical of one of New Zealand’s most famous wines,” Kershaw said.
Te Mata Estate, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, donated to the auction a complete 40-bottle collection of its Awatea wine vintages spanning from 1982 to 2022 (excluding 1984 when the wine was not made while the single vineyard was being replanted).
The Awatea collection is also the first of its kind in auction and Buck said the winery believed it would be a complementary lot to go with the “extremely generous” Coleraine donation.
He said his father was involved in establishing the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction and Te Mata Estate had always been a huge supporter of it and Cranford Hospice.
“We think [Cranford Hospice] does tremendous work in the community and we always want to be behind efforts to fundraise for it.”
Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction raised over $300,000 for Cranford Hospice last year, and there are hopes for another impressive contribution this year with the unique lots on offer. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction
The other 40 lots on offer this year are also impressive, with a one-off still life artwork from feature artist Helen Kerridge; a half barrique (a full barrique is equivalent to 300 bottles) of the acclaimed 2023 Church Road Chardonnay; a seven-night Pacific travel package from House of Travel and Reef House and more.
For the fifth year, journalist Mike McRoberts will join as event ambassador and host.
Tickets are now available on the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction website for an auction preview and tasting on August 14 for $60, and the auction on September 14 for $85.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on the environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
