Vintage: 2020

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2020TR108B206 x 75Stelvin LuxAvailable
Vegetarian
Vegan
Producer

Founded in 1993, by winemaker John Hancock together with Robert and Robyn Wilson, owners of The Bleeding Heart Group and The Don in London, Trinity Hill is synonymous with quality and consistency. In 2021, Trinity Hill was bought by a group of New Zealand private investors passionate about the wine industry, including Director, Mitch Plaw and his business partners, Craig Turner, Mark Sandelin and Michael Nock.

Winemaker Warren Gibson has worked at Trinity Hill since 1997. Alongside his winemaking expertise, Warren also manages Trinity Hill’s 80 hectares of vineyards across Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels. He is well versed in these areas and this knowledge is reflected in his wines. Warren and his team show the best of what Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels can produce. These are wines defined by elegance, balance, drinkability and flavour precision, making them a joy to drink.

Gimblett Gravels

In 1993, Trinity Hill was among the first to plant grapes on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay. Located on the former bed of the Ngaruroro River, the Gimblett Gravels is a highly sought-after sub-region, prized for the quality of its Syrah.

Trinity Hill’s Gimblett Gravels Syrah is sourced from various vineyards in the sub-region, where the soils consist of deep greywacke gravels. The Syrah is co-fermented with Viognier skins, nodding to a classic Côte-Rôtie blend and creating an elegant wine, defined by notes of cracked pepper and wild berry fruits balanced by good acidity. ‘The Gimblett’ blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a little Tempranillo, sourced from two low-yielding vineyards. The resulting wine is powerful and richly structured with lovely blackberry aromatics. Their Gimblett Gravels Tempranillo, made in minute quantities, displays attractive bramble fruit aromas and has soft, velvety tannins. Yet perhaps their most outstanding red wine is the lauded ‘Homage’ Syrah, which is produced only in the very best years and in very limited quantities. It pays tribute to the late Gérard Jaboulet, a long-time friend of Robert, Robyn and John, who worked alongside Gérard in Tain L’Hermitage for the 1996 vintage. Inspired by Côte-Rôtie, it is a wine of incredible elegance and power with great concentration.

Trinity Hill’s Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay, which offers superb value, is fermented with indigenous yeast in 500-litre puncheons before being aged for 11 months in oak, followed by four months on its lees in tank. The resulting wine is defined by notes of citrus, white flowers and ripe grapefruit, as well as toasted cashew and roasted hazelnut. They also produce a single-vineyard Chardonnay using fruit sourced from the ‘125 Gimblett Vineyard’, named after the road that runs past it, in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels. Made as a limited release, this is a powerful, multi-layered wine which was the only New Zealand wine to be awarded a trophy at the 2022 International Wine & Spirit Competition.

Vineyards

This small production wine is grown on Trinity Hill's "Gimblett Stones" vineyard in the unique Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing region of Hawke's Bay. Within this 167 hectare vineyard, a small 0.5 hectare block is planted with a mix of white Rhone varietals: Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier. The warmest of the three Trinity Hill vineyards, Gimblett Stones, is sheltered from prevailing weather by Roys Hill and protected from frost by the nearby new course of the Ngaruroro River. Gimblett Gravels wines are based on the ultimate designation of their district according to a tightly specified soil type. The Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District, covering 800 hectare, is strictly determined by the gravelly soils laid down by the old Ngaruroro River, which was exposed after a huge flood in the 1860's.

Vintage

The 2020 vintage can be characterised as a typical Hawke’s Bay season, with long and hot days combined with moderate, cool nights. As Autumn arrived, the season became cooler yet remained dry, providing ideal ripening conditions whilst preserving natural acidity.

Vinification

The fruit was hand-harvested prior to arrival at the winery where it was gently whole-bunch pressed and settled in tank overnight. Fermentation took place in a range of aged 228 litre French oak barriques and malolactic fermentation was discouraged post-fermentation to retain the wine's natural acidity and preserve Marsanne's delicate aromatics and perfume. After ageing on yeast lees for 17 months, the wine was blended in September 2021, before being filtered and bottled in October 2021 with no fining.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

The Viognier provides exotic aromatics of apricot, musk and jasmine and a luscious texture. Marsanne provides gentle honeysuckle flavours as well as structure and tension to balance the fullness of the Viognier.

Alcohol (ABV)

14%

Acidity

5.9 g/l

Residual Sugar

0.67 g/l

pH

3.28

Other wines from this producer

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Product Code
Features
Style
Gimblett GravelsHawkes Bay Sauvignon BlancTR101
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Gimblett Gravels ChardonnayTR107
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`The Gimblett` Gimblett GravelsTR111
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`Homage` Gimblett Gravels SyrahTR112
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`125 Gimblett` Gimblett Gravels ChardonnayTR151
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Hawkes BayHawkes Bay ChardonnayTR103
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Hawkes Bay Pinot NoirTR104
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`The Trinity` Hawkes BayTR106
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