Church Road Celebrates 25 Years of Iconic Tom Wine-making with Latest Release

September 12 2020 will mark 25 years of iconic Church Road TOM winemaking, with the Hawke’s Bay winery releasing the latest vintages of two TOM wines; the 2016 TOM Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2019 TOM Chardonnay. 

With consistently sold-out vintages, the Church Road TOM range represents the pinnacle of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand wine. Reflecting the exceptional Hawke’s Bay terroir, considered viticulture and masterful winemaking, TOM wines are crafted to deliver great depth and restrained power.

Every wine crafts its own journey and arrives in its own time, and the latest TOM releases celebrate two very different stories.

The 2016 vintage resulted in a superb taste profile for the 2016 Church Road TOM Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, with the conditions creating beautiful Merlot grapes that called for a change in blend and a deviation from what is usually a more Cabernet influenced wine. 

Leading with beautifully ripe black plum and berry fruit, and the brooding, dark earthy and cacao complexity typical of great Merlot, this fine wine has great presence across the full length of the palate. 

The wild-fermented and hand-harvested 2019 Church Road TOM Chardonnay is in spectacular form, after being aged for 18 months.

The fruit was gently whole-bunch pressed directly to French oak barriques without any clarification or additions. Wild primary and malolactic fermentation ensued, and has delivered an extra degree of complexity, textural interest and provided an excellent natural acid balance. The result is a full bodied and powerful Chardonnay that retains good balance and liveliness.

Sharing a similar terroir to Bordeaux, the Hawke’s Bay soil, climate and ocean air blesses Church Road with ideal conditions for its vines and the fruit, and as a result, low intervention winemaking can be implemented.

“Simply put these are our best wines. No effort is spared,” says Chris Scott, Chief Winemaker. 

“As winemakers we are very lucky to live and work in Hawke’s Bay. 123 years of heritage has given us an enviable understanding of a region that is blessed with a combination of soils and climate that are perfect for high quality winegrowing. Couple this with the passion and diligence of our viticultural team and the result is exceptional quality fruit that requires very little interreference in the winery. Our job as winemakers is to simply showcase in the best possible light, the inherent quality of the fruit, rather than trying to mould the wine into a different form. To achieve this, we work with what we have in the most natural way possible. That is Church Road.” says Scott.

First released in 1995, Church Road TOM captures the passion for a craft that has been respected and refined for 123 years.

Church Road TOM Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2016 RRP: $220

Church Road TOM Chardonnay 2019 RRP: $140

For more information visit: www.churchroad.co.nz