The wine was commissioned as a tribute to Gerard Jaboulet of Paul Jaboulet Aine, who Trinity Hill’s founding winemaker John Hancock worked vintage for in 1996. Paul Jaboulet Aine makes the iconic ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage, which still serves as an inspiration for Trinity Hill. The 2015 Trinity Hill ‘Homage’ is the ninth release of the label, being preceded by the 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007. 2009, 2010, 2013 (which I rated 20.0/20, click here to see my review), and the 2014. The 2015 marks an unprecedented three consecutive vintage release of the wine, reflecting the outstanding Hawke’s bay growing seasons in those years.
The wine is, of course, made from the finest fruit. Originally this was solely from the company’s original Gimblett Gravels vines planted in 1995. These vines originated from cuttings from the neighbouring ‘Stonecroft’ vineyard, the ancestry of which is theorised to be the Busby ‘Hermitage’ vines of 1832, brought from Europe. These ‘Mass Selection’ vines were 20 y.o. for the 2015 vintage. This fruit has now been supplemented with new clonal material, the vines now proven to provide suitable quality for ‘Homage’. The 2013 employed Syrah from Roys Hill, technically outside the Gimblett Gravels, hence the ‘Hawke’s Bay’ nomenclature. But only Gimblett Gravels fruit was used for the 2014 and 2015.
It will be fascinating to compare the 2013, 2014 and 2015 ‘Homage’ Syrahs in the coming years. 2013 was touted the best Hawke’s Bay vintage to date, and the wines from this year are classical with brilliant acidity and vitality allied to wonderful ripeness. I see the 2013 ‘Homage’ having slightly greater complexity than the 2014, a product of an even warmer vintage than 2013, yielding wines of greater opulence and accessibility. The feature of the 2014 for me was its outstanding purity. Trinity Hill winemaker Warren Gibson sees the 2015 as "plusher than the previous two vintages” which particularly suits the U.S. market. I agree with Warren’s description of the 2015, adding that it has incredible aromatic floral intensity as its hallmark. It is my highest scored ‘Feature Review’ Syrah this year. My review of the 2015 follows. www.trinityhill.com
