He expected 2026 to be a standout vintage for Hawke’s Bay’s reds.
He said the red grapes had a “longer hang time” on the vines because the warmer start of the summer, cooler January and rainfall in February had recharged the canopy and soil.
This allowed Tombs and his team to “push out some ripeness” of the fruit on the vine, “which is well needed for these varieties”.
“The syrah, merlot and cabernet are exceptional. I think it’s the best I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” he said.
Winemaker and owner at Clearview Estate, Tim Turvey, said his 40th vintage in Te Awanga was “early and amazing”.
“It’s pretty simple really,” Turvey said.
“All we want is hot and dry, and we got it.”
He said some were calling the best vintage for Hawke’s Bay reds “ever” thanks to ripe flavours with great structure and acid.
“The acid’s the thing that gives us our freshness in Hawke’s Bay.”
Turvey said the colours of his grapes were the best he’d seen in a long time after ripening “super quick”.
“My favourite vintages were 2009 and ’13. I think this might excel it.
“We might learn something a bit from this as well.”
The Trinity Hill harvest started on February 12 this year, one week earlier than 2025.
General manager Sarah Watson said this was because of the warm spring and early warm summer.
“Trinity has been producing wine since the mid-1990s, and I believe this could be one the earliest harvests on record, if not the earliest.”
She said 120mm of rainfall in January put the growing vines in “great stead” for the dry start to autumn.
Watson said 2026’s cooler but dry March created “ideal conditions for developing outstanding fruit”.
She said Trinity Hill’s main white variety, chardonnay, had “excellent balance and concentration”.
Watson said there were also early signs the winery’s red would be of excellent quality.
“Overall, harvest 2026 has shaped up to be a very high-quality vintage.”
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.