Our Current Range  :  The Philosophy  :  How Te Motu Ages The Family Behind the Name  :  How the Labels got their Names The decision to buy land in Onetangi Valley was motivated by the wish to concentrate on premium red wines blended from the classic Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. The soils, climate and clear air of the maritime environment met the criteria expounded by Dr Paul Pontallier, chief wine maker of the famed Chateau Margaux, that “the real purpose of wine growing is to reveal the potential of its terroir”. In their case, the Dunleavy family found the terroir to match their intended purpose of Bordeaux style red wine growing. Defining “terroir” as combining climate, soil and the input of man, Dr Pontallier says the grower has to find the variety and the style of wine and vine management system best suited to that terroir. Grapes require a climate in which they can become sufficiently ripe, but not so hot as to lead to over-ripening which creates deep physiological imbalance. Experience has shown that good wine growing terroirs enjoy moderate climates, neither too hot not too cold, neither too dry nor too humid. Soils are highly influential. Cabernet grown on gravel will be finer and more delicate, but becomes more rustic, fleshier and fatter when grown on a clay-limestone soil. “In the end it is what man does that enables the terroir to express its richness through the wine,” says Dr Pontallier. Te Motu vineyard manager and co-wine maker, John Dunleavy, was able to observe the Chateau Margaux philosophy in practice when he was accepted as a guest cellar worker during the 1996 Margaux vintage. There are seasonal differences which are an integral part of the charm of and variety of taste experiences which wine can offer, but the recurring themes in Te Motu wines are depth of colour, length and intensity of berryish flavours, smooth ripe tannins, and the complexity of nose and palate added by extended maturation in a range of French and American oak. “While our wines have been very favourably compared with the best of Bordeaux, they are unmistakeably and uniquely a reflection of their Onetangi Valley terroir,” says Paul Dunleavy.