$295.00
– Sold Out| /
Region: North Canterbury
Grapes: Pinot Noir
First Glance: Wild, Concentrated, Savoury, Age-worthy
Acclaim: 97pts
The Wine:
The Bell Hill Pinot Noir is an 8-barrel blend of the Shelf parcels, the Shelf West, Quarry Rootlings and 10/5, Roadblock and Slope. 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 on the 28th of October 2020 with a pH of 3.54, TA of 5.8 g/L and an alcohol of 13%. 2,485 bottles were produced.
A deep fruited nose with cool blue fruit notes and edges of red florals, lovely richness, though not big, with baked spice and herbal notes that draw you in. Nice tension, acid focus with salinity flow and a lavender finish. Nice depth of concentration and power with mouth coating tannins, retaining freshness and vibrancy throughout the palate.
The Review:
Nick Ryan, The Australian - 97pts
"Cold and wet weather during flowering in the spring of 2018 severely impacted the pinot noir yields for this vintage, but what has been produced is spectacular. Its spell is cast initially on the nose, blood orange and wild raspberry, some wild sage and coriander seed. But it’s in the mouth that the magic in this wine is so evident. It has an effortless grace and beautifully filigreed detail that stamps this vineyard as one of the greatest pinot noir sites in the world."
