The Trinity Hill ‘Homage’ Syrah is the company’s flagship wine. Its beginnings hark back to Trinity Hill’s founding winemaker meeting the Jaboulet family in the Rhone Valley in 1981. John returned to work harvest there in 1996 strengthening his friendship with Gerard Jaboulet, and becoming more intimate with ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage, Jaboulet’s top wine. Gerard sent to John at Trinity Hill three clones of Syrah and a Viognier clone as a gift. Gerard passed away in 1997 at the age of 55, and he became the inspiration for the creation of the Trinity Hill ‘Homage’ with a traceable lineage back to the collection of vines brought into the country by James Busby in 1832. Trinity Hill’s first batch of Syrah was in 1995. The Jaboulet cuttings were propagated and planted in 2002. Fruit from these vine sources now make up the Trinity Hill ‘Homage’. The first Trinity Hill ‘Homage’ Syrah was the 2002 vintage, followed by the 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The 2016 is the tenth release. It is now regarded as one of New Zealand’s great wines and is highly regarded around the world.
When I visited the Hawke’s Bay region in April earlier this year, Trinity Hill winemakers Warren Gibson and Damian Fischer with marketing manager Cara Gittings gave me a preview tasting of the ‘Homage’ 2016. The wine was superb to my taste, and I rated it 19.5/20 (click here to see my report). The wine has since been offered ‘en primeur’, but it is available for general purchase as of start of November. I have conducted my ‘Feature Review’ of the wine here. Since I tasted it, the wine shows a harmony and multi-faceted aromatic nature that has led me to increase my score to 20.0/20 points. This is not the most striking ‘Homage’ made, but its dimension and harmony make it a great one. www.trinityhill.com
