The team at the trinity hill – under the leadership of the immensely talented chief winemaker Warren Gibston (Waz to his friends) – is no stranger to wine accolades. Trinity Hill is just one of the names at the tip of my tongue when people want a recommendation for a great Hawke’s Bay red wine. Not only are the wines fantastic and widely available, there’s also a range of price points, which I find to be particularly important when you’re talking to someone new to bigger red wines. A reasonable price point takes away one barrier to trying something new. In this case we are looking at the upper end of the price spectrum within the Trinity Hill portfolio, but make no mistake, this wine is something special.

Named ‘Prison Block’, this cabernet sauvignon is grown on land in the Gimblett Gravels that was levelled in the 1970s in preparation to be the site of the new Hawke’s Bay Regional Correctional Facility. In the end the prison was built elsewhere, and one sip of this wine confirms that it would be criminal for anything other than cabernet sauvignon vines to inhabit that site.

It’s huge in colour and very youthful with its deep ruby running all the way to the rim. On the nose, the oak lift sits alongside tobacco notes and dense, intense dark-fruit aromas. The palate is big and bold with smooth, structured tannins and a deep, concentrated flavour profile that leads to a long, satisfying finish. Delayed gratification will reward those who wish to cellar this statement wine.