TRINITY HILL GIMBLETT GRAVELS CHARDONNAY 2023

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay, often referred to as the Black Label, is consistently one of the very best to come out of Hawkes Bay yet the pricing has stayed surprisingly reasonable.

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Fragrant aromas of white nectarines, citrus blossom and lime zest are complemented by hints of toasted nuts, flint, and savoury spices. The wine is refined and complex yet remains fresh and vibrant thanks to a fine acid backbone. These qualities, combined with tangy stone fruit/citrus flavours, integrated spicy/toasty oak results in a delicious palate with a salivating, lingering finish. A wine of balance, finesse and complexity that are the hallmarks of Trinity Hill Chardonnay. Drink from 2022 to 2030.

Hand-harvested fruit was gently pressed and fermented in 500-litre French oak puncheons and 228L Barriques, of which 57% were new. Malolactic fermentation was encouraged to soften the acidity and impart further richness. The wine spent 12 months in barrel before being blended to tank for a further six months maturation on its yeast lees to build further texture and complexity. The wine was filtered and bottled in July 2024 with no fining."

5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, August 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"Gorgeously composed and elegantly expressed, the wine shows white flesh peach, lemon peel, vanilla, hazelnut, and almond meal nuances on the nose, leading to a brilliantly focused palate that's succulent and finely textured. Wonderfully styled and structured with splendid complexity, it is engaging and gracefully seductive. At its best: 2026 to 2035."

Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, August 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"A lovely complex bouquet and palate driven by scents and flavours of ripe yellow stone fruits framed by toasty oak with a Brazil nut butter and cashew nut qualities. On the palate a full-bodied wine with intensity and texture. Flavours of stone fruits and baked apple, citrus pith and nectarine. Fine wood tannins with a gentle leesy flinty quality, then a gravel soil style. Balanced and well made with a lengthy and nicely complex finish. Best drinking from 2025 through 2030."

5 Stars Yvonne Lorkin, May 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"From one of the most challenging vintages Hawke’s Bay has ever seen, where Cyclone Gabrielle roared through the region and devastated so many vineyards and dumped an unholy amount of rain just a week or two before harvest was due to begin. Fortunately Trinity’s Chardonnay grows in the Gimblett Gravels. In this ancient, deep gravel riverbed, surface water drains away to an underground aquifer at lightspeed. So when the sun came out and the berries on the vines began to dry, Trinity’s low-yield Chardonnay was able to ripen deliciously and the resulting wine is ultra-concentrated yet elegantly styled. Perfumed with a lick of grilled grapefruit and baked nectarine, toasty, caramelised oak, toasted almond and a lift of flinty minerality wraps around its citrus core. Beautifully balanced, expertly crafted, and long on flavour. A true classic. Drinking deliciously now, but another 5 years in the cellar will bring even more excitement."

91/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, January 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"The 2023 Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay is fine and detailed, with white peach, green apple, layers of white peppercorn and star anise. The wine is pristine and glossy, with some creamy undercurrent from barrel work, and it has lovely length. It's a quiet wine from a wet vintage, very elegant."