Bell Hill Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Canterbury, New Zealand ***On Allocation***, 2020

Producer Profile

Bell Hill Vineyard is a boutique winery situated in the Weka Pass area of North Canterbury, New Zealand.

Established in 1997 by Marcel Giesen and Sherwyn Veldhuizen, the vineyard occupies a former limestone quarry, which imparts unique characteristics to its wines. Known for their elegance, complexity, and longevity. The Pinot Noir exhibits layers of ripe red and dark fruits with fine tannins, while the Chardonnay offers flinty complexity and a tight structure that evolves beautifully with age.

Viticulture

The Bell Hill Pinot Noir is a numerous barrel blend (8 to 15 barrels depending on vintage) of the Shelf parcels, the Shelf West, Quarry Rootlings and 10/5, Roadblock and Slope.

Winemaking

All of the fruit was destemmed, and each block had 23 to 28 days on skins with cold pre-ferment and warm post-ferment macerations. After basket pressing, the wine went into 100% new French oak, it was racked and blended after 12 months and had 7 months in tank before bottling.

Tasting Note

Attractive deep, spicy aromatic notes. On the palate we see flesh and vibrance with a taut, energetic core, a fine-tuned, mineral driven and focused finish. The wine has depth and lift, salivating and saline, with mid-palate flesh and a touch of sweet fruit, it needs time to shape its final form, but has fine-boned elegance complemented by a palate flowing finish.

Food Matching

Beef bourguignon, charcuterie and cheeseboards, roast meat and game, this would also work with perch in a red wine sauce.