Founded in 1993, by winemaker John Hancock together with Robert and Robyn Wilson, owners of The Bleeding Heart Group and The Don in London, Trinity Hill is synonymous with quality and consistency. In 2021, Trinity Hill was bought by a group of New Zealand private investors passionate about the wine industry, including Director, Mitch Plaw and his business partners, Craig Turner, Mark Sandelin and Michael Nock.

Winemaker Warren Gibson has worked at Trinity Hill since 1997. Alongside his winemaking expertise, Warren also manages Trinity Hill’s 80 hectares of vineyards across Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels. He is well versed in these areas and this knowledge is reflected in his wines. Warren and his team show the best of what Hawkes Bay and the Gimblett Gravels can produce. These are wines defined by elegance, balance, drinkability and flavour precision, making them a joy to drink.

Gimblett Gravels

In 1993, Trinity Hill was among the first to plant grapes on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay. Located on the former bed of the Ngaruroro River, the Gimblett Gravels is a highly sought-after sub-region, prized for the quality of its Syrah.

Trinity Hill’s Gimblett Gravels Syrah is sourced from various vineyards in the sub-region, where the soils consist of deep greywacke gravels. The Syrah is co-fermented with Viognier skins, nodding to a classic Côte-Rôtie blend and creating an elegant wine, defined by notes of cracked pepper and wild berry fruits balanced by good acidity. ‘The Gimblett’ blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a little Tempranillo, sourced from two low-yielding vineyards. The resulting wine is powerful and richly structured with lovely blackberry aromatics. Their Gimblett Gravels Tempranillo, made in minute quantities, displays attractive bramble fruit aromas and has soft, velvety tannins. Yet perhaps their most outstanding red wine is the lauded ‘Homage’ Syrah, which is produced only in the very best years and in very limited quantities. It pays tribute to the late Gérard Jaboulet, a long-time friend of Robert, Robyn and John, who worked alongside Gérard in Tain L’Hermitage for the 1996 vintage. Inspired by Côte-Rôtie, it is a wine of incredible elegance and power with great concentration.

Trinity Hill’s Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay, which offers superb value, is fermented with indigenous yeast in 500-litre puncheons before being aged for 11 months in oak, followed by four months on its lees in tank. The resulting wine is defined by notes of citrus, white flowers and ripe grapefruit, as well as toasted cashew and roasted hazelnut. They also produce a single-vineyard Chardonnay using fruit sourced from the ‘125 Gimblett Vineyard’, named after the road that runs past it, in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels. Made as a limited release, this is a powerful, multi-layered wine which was the only New Zealand wine to be awarded a trophy at the 2022 International Wine & Spirit Competition.