Last week we revealed our ‘Top 10 Tasting’ results for New Zealand Chardonnay – a great result for Hawke’s Bay in general, and the kudos for being the number one wine on the night went to Trinity Hill. We asked wine maker Warren Gibson for comment on his winning wine, and he had this to say:
“2018 was a very good season in Hawke’s Bay for Chardonnay. It was an early to normal vintage from a picking timing point of view. Ripe fruit was easy to achieve, however, humidity and some wet days at the end of the season made it important to pick before things turned quickly.
The philosophy in making this wine is to use staggered picking dates and a range of fruit profiles combined with hands-off, traditional winemaking to create the building blocks of complexity in the finished wine. Hand-harvested grapes, whole bunch pressed direct to 500 litre puncheons with indigenous fermentations and no additions translates to a wine true to the vineyard, showing its sense of place and hopefully delicious drinkability along with an ability to age for 5+ years.”
The winning Chardonnay warranted a full review – see below:
Brilliant lemon-green in the glass, with smoky elements of reduction, baking spice, hazelnut and fresh citrus aromas on the nose. Full-bodied and intense with grapefruit, nectarine and crisp pear flavours on the palate. Solid structure – at the core is the ripe fruit, but layers develop as you sink into the plush texture. There’s elegant biscuity oak, taut acidity giving great line, and seam of chalky mineral. The long lasting finish is harmonious and generous. A very balanced, complex but complete wine – one to lose yourself in. 95pts
