Falcon in the Vines: Te Mata Coleraine 2018 Is Still Priced Like a Rookie but Built Like a Champion
Bacchus once raced a New Zealand falcon across Hawke’s Bay terraces and planted vines beneath its shadow; today that same gravel ridge yields a red swift enough to outrun sluggish markets
A god, a falcon and a first-mover lesson
At dawn I wagered a kārearea, the lightning-fast New Zealand falcon, that I could match its flight from Te Mata Peak to the Tukituki River. As its shadow skimmed the stony terraces I ran beneath, pressing Cabernet seeds into warm gravel. By nightfall vines marked the bird’s path and early risers who gathered cuttings soon ruled valley trade. Coleraine 2018 springs from that very ridge: move early, claim scarce supply, and let slower hands pay the premium later.
Investor snapshot in three quick beats
Coleraine 2018 trades around 89 USD in the US with offers as low as 75 USD Wine-Searcher; the 2021 release already averages 115 USD, handing the 2018 a discount of roughly twenty-percent despite equal or higher critical praise Wine-Searcher. Reviewers stack the deck with 98 points from Bob Campbell and 100 from Sam Kim, while drinkers log a 93.4-point community average on CellarTracker Red Wagon ShoppeLes Passionnés du VinCellarTracker. Supply is measured in only a few thousand cases from hand-harvested Havelock Hills parcels , and even as the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 turns negative year-to-date, broader “Rest of the World” labels draw fresh bids, signalling capital rotation toward non-European icons Liv-ex.
The thesis in plain words
Each cork popped in Auckland, Singapore or New York chips away at an already tiny float, yet the newer vintage has set a higher price ceiling that history suggests the 2018 will chase. Drinking appeal crests from 2026 through 2045, letting pleasure and price rise together. If global markets wobble again, a critic-backed flagship under one hundred dollars looks like a smart southern-hemisphere hedge.
Risks remain. Liquidity outside Australasia can take weeks, and any break in bonded provenance flattens resale value, so buy in original six-packs and store cold.
Bacchus’ closing counsel
Follow the falcon’s shadow. Lock in Coleraine 2018 while it flutters below ninety dollars, then let patience stretch its wings toward the 2021 price band. When latecomers finally look skyward, you will already be holding the swiftest bird on the ridge.
