Yet another bright blue, sunny day dawned for day 2 in Hawkes Bay.
The Gimblett Gravels have become the most important wine producing area in New Zealand, and since they were considered as suitable for viticulture back in the 1980’s, have been transformed from land deemed only suitable for sheep into very expensive vineyard real estate.
Trinity Hill was our destination winery and Warren Gibson, the chief winemaker, took us on a voyage of discovery. We toured round the vineyards and got a deep insight into the structure of the soil, how it influences wine style and how Syrah has now become very important due to its affinity with the Gimblett Gravels.
Warren was terrific. He really communicated the essence – not only of Gimblett Gravels but of the Trinity Hill style. This was backed up by a tremendous tasting of both the White Label and Black Label range. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and a variety of blends were tasted – all impeccably made. The tasting culminated with The Homage 2010 – stunning Syrah with enormous potential to age.
A delicious lunch was then served on the upstairs terrace which we washed down with some older vintages of their Chardonnay and Gimblett Syrah.
Trinity Hill has been a truly outstanding place to visit and Warren Gibson was the perfect host. Utterly memorable.
From Trinity Hill it is a short hop around the amazing Te Mata peak to the equally amazing Craggy Range.
Craggy Range was set up by Terry Peabody and renowned viticulturist Steve Smith MW in 1997 and has very quickly become an iconic Hawkes Bay winery.
Owning land in a variety of locations including the Gimblett Gravels, Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago, Craggy Range are at the forefront of super-premium production – with potential for great longevity.
Cellar door manager Jacqui Simiss took us round the amazing kitchen garden which services the Terroir Restaurant on site and then hosted a superb tasting of the range.
We stood in the glorious Sophia cellar – their flagship wine – and tasted top class Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and some stunning blends. Even some sampling from barrel!
Mick Moore helps himself from the barrel at Craggy Range