Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is in such elegant, suave and regal form in 2017 with white pepper-dusted, fresh summer berries, graphite, deeper woody-spice notes of cardamom and cloves and swirling perfume. The palate has a super fresh, fleshy and detailed feel with a wealth of bright, juicy and crunchy fruit on offer with such fresh, juicy and succulent tannins, carrying bright, lively blackberries with precision and intent. Impressive. Best from 2025.
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Decanter
A fragrant and exotic Syrah (maybe that's the 4% Viognier) filled with aromas of cracked pepper and Szechuan spices in addition to layers of black cherry, violet and even a hint of roasted coffee. A mid-weight, elegant style that seems to effortlessly capture both freshness and the fine-textured, stone-licking tannins synonymous with the Gravels. Lively, perfumed and alluring. Get a bottle!
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Wine Enthusiast
While it's hard to get past the heavy bottle in the age of climate change, this producer's latest vintage of its top wine is a skillfully crafted drop. Less overtly spicy than the previous vintage, it opens with bright red fruit, florals, flecks of black olives, warm pavement and peppery spice. Things get more serious on the palate with a lovely powdery texture and taut, fine tannins. Minerals and spices abound amid the crunchy red fruit. Those tannins indicate a long life ahead. Drink now with food–2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Not as dense or powerful as some previous vintages, the 2017 Homage Syrah instead boasts soaring aromas of violets, cracked pepper, black cherries and tapenade. It's only medium-bodied yet concentrated and silky in feel, with a long, elegant finish framed by softly dusty tannins. This complex, approachable wine should drink well for a decade or more.
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Vinous
2017 might not be one of Gimblett Gravels' great vintages, but there's still joy to be found. Homage, Trinity Hill's flagship Syrah, offers plenty of appeal: it is fragrant and floral with classic Syrah black pepper. There's decent concentration wrapped up in this light-bodied frame, with plentiful, gravelly tannins providing grip. Okay, it's not as dense or brooding as warmer, drier seasons, but wine would be boring without vintage variation, and this is an attractive offering.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An eclectic region on the east coast of the North Island, Hawkes Bay extends from wide, fertile, coastal plains, inland, to the coast range, whose peaks reach as high as 5,300 feet. While the flatter areas were historically more popular because they are easier to cultivate, their alluvial soils can be too fertile for vines. In the late 20th century, the drive for quality led growers to the hills where soils are free-draining, limestone-rich and more suited to producing high quality wines.
Over the passing of time, the old Ngaruroro River laid down deep, gravelly beds, which were subsequently exposed after a huge flood in the 1860’s. In the 1980s growers identified this stretch, which continues for approximately 800 ha, and named it the Gimblett Gravels. The zone has proven to be ideal for the production of excellent red wines, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.
Today the area takes well-earned recognition for its Bordeaux blends and other reds. Expressive of intense stewed red and black berry with gentle herbaceous characters, Gimblett Gravels wines are suggestive of their cool climate origin, and on par with other top-notch Bordeaux blends around the globe.
Chardonnay is the top white grape in Hawkes Bay, making elegant wines, strong in stone fruit character. Sauvignon blanc comes in close behind, notable for its tropical, fruit forward qualities.