September 12 2020 will mark 25 years of iconic Church Road TOM winemaking, with the Hawke’s Bay winery releasing the latest vintages of two TOM wines; the 2016 TOM Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2019 TOM Chardonnay.
TOM is Church Road’s pinnacle wine range and is only produced when it is believed that they can make an outstanding vintage. Only superior parcels of fruit are used to craft wines that show exceptional character and quality. The range is named after the late Tom McDonald (1907– 1987), a true pioneer of New Zealand’s fine winemaking and legendary winemaker at Church Road Winery for over 50 years.
“Simply put these are our best wines. No effort is spared,” says Chris Scott, Chief Winemaker.
“As winemakers we are very lucky to live and work in Hawke’s Bay. 123 years of heritage has given us an enviable understanding of a region that is blessed with a combination of soils and climate that are perfect for high quality winegrowing”.
“Couple this with the passion and diligence of our viticultural team and the result is exceptional quality fruit that requires very little interreference in the winery. Our job as winemakers is to simply showcase in the best possible light, the inherent quality of the fruit, rather than trying to mould the wine into a different form”.
