Gold Medal – The National Wine Awards Aotearoa New Zealand 2026
Winery notes (2025 Vintage)
"Marsanne and Roussanne are white varieties that originate from the Rhône Valley in France. Marsanne provides structure, texture, and length on the palate with flavours of citrus blossom and honeysuckle. Roussanne contributes captivating aromas of peach, spice, and white flowers, and a freshness to the palate. The exotic and sensual nature of this wine makes it an ideal substitute for Chardonnay or Pinot Gris, and a versatile wine with food. Try it with Asian-inspired dishes. Drink from now to 2030.
Weather conditions leading up to the 2025 harvest were typical of a classic Hawke’s Bay summer – long hot sunny days with moderate cool nights. As Autumn arrived, the season remained dry, providing ideal ripening conditions while preserving natural acidity.
Hand-harvested fruit was gently whole-bunch pressed, settled in tank overnight and then transferred to a range of aged 228-litre French oak barriques and 500-litre puncheons for fermentation (12% indigenous ferment). Partial Malolactic fermentation occurred post-fermentation to retain the wine’s natural acidity and preserve Marsanne’s delicate aromatics and perfume. After ageing on yeast lees for 9 months, the wine was blended before being filtered and bottled with no fining. While barrel fermentation and lees ageing were used to impart complexity and richness, no obvious oak character was sought."
Reviews for the 2024 vintage below…
95/100 & Top 100 New Zealand Wines of 2025, JamesSuckling.com (2024 Vintage)
"A waxy white Rhone blend with aromas of green apples, orange blossoms, apricots and nectarines. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, offering a chiseled texture and focused freshness. Vibrant stone fruit flavours are complemented by a precise, mineral-driven finish. If only more white Rhones were made with this precision today."
5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Januray 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"Charming and elegantly lifted, the bouquet shows apricot, green rockmelon, Gala apple, and lime peel nuances, leading to a concentrated palate displaying succulent fruit flavours with fleshy texture and beautifully pitched acidity. Generous yet poised with harmony and structure, finishing persistent, and satisfying. At its best: now to 2030."
Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, January 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"A very bright and fruity bouquet laced with scents of citrus and pomaceous fruits, there’s a sea air saline and floral quality offering complexity and intrigue. Delicious on the palate with a core of ripe white stone fruit flavours then apple and citrus peel. Phenolics are spread across the palate adding mouthfeel and structure, acidity adds backbone and freshness as well the saline quality. A lovely example with best drinking from 2025 through 2029."
93/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, February 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"A new blend for the ‘Rhône white’ from this Hawke’s Bay producer – it has been a Marsanne-Viognier mix in previous vintages. Trinity Hill explain “The Roussanne vines have been performing exceptionally well which led us to make the change”. 2024 is looking to have been a superb vintage for the Gimblett Gravels.
A pale lemon-gold in the glass. An inviting perfume shows pear, nectarine, mandarin, almond, nutmeg, ginger and honeysuckle floral notes. Quite viscous and full-bodied on the palate, where the juicy fruit is complemented by a briney acidity. Rich and textured, with dry phenolics that contrast well with the voluptuous flavours. Good length through the palate and into a finish with great persistence."
4 ½ Stars Yvonne Lorkin, May 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"Over the last couple of decades, Trinity Hill have quietly been nurturing a few rows of these two Rhone Valley grapes and crafting tiny amounts of their own signature blend, and those in the know have been excitedly squirrelling each vintage away and appreciating it’s deliciously dry, generously refreshing, complex richness, and its baked apple, white pepper and dried herb layers. Plus it shows a long, mineral-laced, saline-saturated finish. Try it now, or forever kick yourself."



















