I’d say it’s about time a Trius White came out. For years now the flagship wine of Hillebrand has been their Trius Red Bordeaux-blend, but until now it has never had a white partner. Darryl Brooker (winemaker) came on board a couple of years back and voila, now we finally have a wine to match up with the red. This is a soft white, meaning it’s meant to drink now, when compared with its red brother, which is meant for the long haul. Made up of primarily Gewurztraminer (33%) and Riesling (30%) with some lightly oaked (5 months) Pinot Gris (28%) and a smattering of unoaked Chardonnay (9%) this is a friendly summertime wine that’ll be great for this summer and the next two. Released on Canada Day weekend 2007, this Canadian icon label’s first white blend is loaded with flavours, both in the mouth and on the nose – and because Hillebrand waits till just the right time for release, there is no bottle shock here … it’s been given a full three months to settle into its new bottled home. Initially, the nose has Sauvignon Blanc aromas, with some grassy-citrus notes, but with a little aeration the peach, lychee, rose petal and apple emerge. About 5 minutes later some melon shows up, we’ll call him cantaloupe, and he’s the life of this nose-party. Now, after all that, it’s time to taste and what a wonderful show this is. Lemonade is the first to show up on stage, then peach and papaya arrive. Lychee is the next to make an appearance, and just when you think the show is over canaloupe emerges to grab hold of your buds, and well, “wow” is all I can say. The palate is not as sweet as the nose projects, although this is considered a “one” on ye olde sugar scale; and to prove it’s dry finish, a seam of citrus appears at the end to finish it off with a little kick. Fresh, crisp and lovely best describe this inaugural offering of this blend by Brooker – and a worthy addition to the Trius line of wines. Bravo