Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2021  £26.72

TRINITY HILL GIMBLETT GRAVELS CHARDONNAY

Since its inception in 1993, partners John Hancock, who has been making wine in New Zealand for over 35 years, and Robert and Robyn Wilson, owners of The Bleeding Heart and The Don in London, have made Trinity Hill a byword for quality and consistency. Winemaker Warren Gibson has been with Trinity Hill since 1997. He is also in charge of the 80 hectares of vineyard owned by Trinity Hill, of which 47 are in the Gimblett Gravels. The Gimblett Gravels, planted on the former bed of the Ngaruroro River, is now a highly sought after sub-region renowned for the quality of its wines. The Trinity Hill wines have an elegance, balance, drinkability and precision of flavour. This estate was one of the first to plant grapes on the Gimblett Gravels in 1993.

The Gimblett Gravels winegrowing area is a small sub-region in the Hawkes Bay, defined by a very unique stony soil type. This wine is sourced from Estate grown grapes in the Tin Shed and Winery vineyards.

2021 was an ideal vintage. Weather conditions leading up to the harvest were typical of a Hawke’s Bay summer – warm. sunny days with moderately cool nights. As autumn arrived the season became cooler yet remained dry, providing ideal ripening conditions

The hand-harvested fruit for this wine was gently pressed before being fermented with indigenous yeasts in 500 litre French oak puncheons and a small number of 228 litre French oak barriques, 37% of which were new. Malolactic fermentation was encouraged to soften acidity and give further richness. The wine then spent 11 months in barrel, followed by a further four months in tank on lees before being bottled with no fining and minimal filtration in July 2022.

This Chardonnay displays aromas of citrus fruit, white nectarines, and citrus blossom. The palate is medium-bodied with flavours of toasted nuts, spices, and a slight note of flint, with hints of elegant and well-integrated oak. There is a delicacy to this wine but also a richness and beautifully linear acidity.

95 points The Real Review

Delicious chardonnay with an exquisite balance of tangy acidity and a complex array of stone fruit, citrus, nut and spice flavours. A moderately weighty wine with energy and drive. Hard to imagine it getting any better

Bob Campbell MW