When Warren Gibson said he thought the 2015 was a Goldilocks wine I thought it meant the best food match was porridge. In my defence I’m blaming my stupidity on the stress of running a WSET Level 3 exam that morning and a blistering hot day in Hawkes Bay.
En route back to the airport it made sense to taste the latest Homage at the cellar door rather than ask for an expensive bottle of wine to be sent to Auckland. So I emailed ahead and was greeted by Warren and Cara who had set out glasses etc on the Trinity Hill verandah so that I could taste whilst looking over the vines. With wines like this it almost seems pointless to write a review. Ultra premium wines are made with such care and attention that only a disaster of catastrophic proportions would surely prevent it being anything other than delightful.
But ever conscious of our IWM readers I dutifully tasted and took notes.
2015 Trinity Hill Homage, Hawke’s Bay $130.00
25% whole cluster, 13.0% alcohol. 15 months in barrel post ferment, some in large 5000 litre ovals.
Intensely floral with violet and lavender. A touch of smoke, some sizzling bacon, black pepper. There is an intensity and concentration of fruit, a note of luxurious creme de cassis with melting bitter chocolate and just a whiff of wintergreen but still a sense of elegance and remains.
The palate is silky, generously fruited but with succulence and poise. As ever the wine is not really showy but sits quietly in its own skin. There is a strong sense of place, this is a true expression of Gimblett Gravels not the Northern Rhone, and the transparency of the vintage shines through. Despite time in barrel at no point did I write anything about oak in my notes which must surely be a testament to the skill of the Trinity Hill team. Long and persistent flavours suggest this will cellar well.
I do accept that for wines of this stature a ginormous bottle is almost de rigeur but such heavyweight packaging gives off an expectation of style ie. that the wine inside will be honkingly over the top. Which is so at odds with the character of this wine.