Vineyards: Trinity Hill owned Gimblett Estate and Gimblett Stones vineyards, situated in the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawkes Bay, approximately 50% of each.
Soils consist of deep river shingle, deposited by the Ngaruroro River over the ages as it changed course, with exposed greywacke gravel stones which absorb and re-radiate heat.
Variety: Syrah approx. 91% (predominantly mass selected NZ clone, plus Rhone clone 470), Viognier approx. 9% (Rhone clone 642).
Harvest Detail: 100% hand picked
Syrah Picked 22/3-23/4/07
Brix 23.9-26.6 o
Total acidity 5.3 – 8.1g/l
pH 3.20-3.60
Viognier Picked 28/3-23/4/07
Brix 27.0-28.0
Total acidity 4.8-5.6 g/l
pH 3.51-3.65
Bottled: December 8 2008
14.4 % alcohol
6.5 g/l acidity
3.58 pH
Winemaking: 2007 was an excellent quality vintage for us, slightly cooler than 2006.
The handpicked grapes are hand-sorted, de-stemmed and lightly crushed to leave a large portion of uncrushed berries. Viognier is lightly pressed for white table wine and the skins are then fermented together with the Syrah grapes, aiding colour, tannin structure and fragrance, making the resulting wine more feminine. Fermentation takes place in small stainless steel fermenters and the cap was hand plunged three times daily for optimum color and tannin extraction. A short post-fermentation maceration helps complex the tannins, softening and stabilising the wine.
The wine was subsequently aged in predominantly new French oak barriques for about 18 months, with malo-lactic fermentation taking place in barrel. Regular racking for clarification took place during aging in barrel. Carefully controlled exposure to air during racking, aids in maturation of the wine.
Much of the fruit came from vines planted in 1994. The vines were pruned and the shoots and bunches thinned at the appropriate times to give a crop level of around 1 tonne per acre (approx 18 Hectolitres per Hectare). The normal expected crop level would be 3-4 tonne per acre. Special canopy management of the vines and impeccable viticulture during the growing season and strict attention to detail at harvest ensures that the fruit quality is of the highest order.
The Wine: This label is only produced in those years which make wine of sufficient quality to meet our stringent demands. The previous vintages of this wine have become highly collectible and Homage is already one of New Zealand’s most iconic and internationally recognized labels. This label has won 27 gold medals or equivalent and 8 trophies, since 2004.
2007 produced a wine that is more refined, elegant and fragrant than the great 2006 and will mature into a beautiful wine, with elements of black fruits such as plum, blackberry, cheery and cassis.
The wine shows great elegance, with concentration and weight. The structure is tight and tense, which will allow the wine to age gracefully for many years. We would suggest at least 10 years under good cellaring conditions. We would expect more complex truffly, forest floor and leather characters to emerge with age.
You can be assured that the 2007 Homage will be a benchmark New Zealand Syrah and will be highly collectible and sought after, just as the previous vintages have. Homage has achieved world-wide recognition as the classic New Zealand Syrah, able to foot it with any in the world.
