The pinnacle of the Church Road range of wines is their TOM. They state: “Dedicated to Tom McDonald, Patriarch of Church Road and pioneer of Hawke’s Bay’s quality focused winemaking renascence. TOM is only made in the exceptional vintages. Simply put, these are our best wines. No effort is spared. They represent the culmination of the collective experience and understanding of our team past and present, applied to some of the best parcels of winegrowing land in Hawke’s Bay”.
On release, it is difficult to properly judge a wine that will be drinking at its best in at least ten years time. After 5 years you will find the wine heading into secondary development – away from that primary fruit. The colour should last very well – it might be fifteen years before you start to see any browning of the deep red. Whereas aged Syrah simple becomes an older version of itself, I find the good Bordeaux style wines from Hawke’s Bay become something different.
A 70/30 blend, from both the Redstone and Gimblett Vineyards in Hawke’s Bay. The nose is heady and sweet, with vanilla, lavender, graphite, and a peaty earthiness over that textbook black and red fruit. It has great weight to the palate and a brooding reticence at this stage. Power and depth is matched by a tightness through the palate, but a layer of ripe sweetness is clustered at the core, and is quietly persuasive. Lots of ying and yang in this youngster – acidity is precise and flowing, where the tannin is firm and grippy. A nice contrast of pepper and bitter chocolate to the long finish. I expect this to come together more in time, but there’s plenty to see in here already. 95pts
