Bell Hill, Pinot Noir, Canterbury

Developing still, rosehips and great acidity, I think I’d like a little more maturity, it seems a bit between 2 camps right now

2013 vintage

Blind Tasting - Smell Like Burgundy Spirit (Remuera, Auckland) : Opened and breathed in-bottle for 3 hours before serving. Aromatic and perfumed from the start, with layers of red and dark cherry, red flowers, herbal notes, forest mushrooms, and subtle spice: clove, cinnamon, and bay leaf. The savoury and fruity elements are beautifully integrated, though the fruit expression takes the lead. Bright acidity and superfine, silky tannins carry a m+ body with grace. The finish is long and persistent, and …

2013 vintage

Highlights from Mike and Cathy’s 2024 Christmas lunch (Wellington, NZ) : Served double blind by Con, small pour. A special pinot noir. Lovely aromatics with some biscuity oak-derived elements. Old World savouriness and earthiness meets New World oak handling although several tasters had the Bell Hill as Côte de Nuits. An excellent vintage of Bell Hill currently drinking in its prime. 93+.

2013 vintage

I enjoyed this very much. Perfumed nose of dried strawberry and herbs. Very clean line of acid forms a backbone to savoury cherries with secondary notes forming - clean chewy edges, very fine tannins. Peacock tail of flavour that goes on and on. Delicious.

2013 vintage

Strawberries, dried red cherries, dried green herbs and some nice dried earthy notes. Medium bodied with a precise and medium intense acidity. Tannins are nicely integrated. Very good fruit structure and depth. Quite feminine and elegant style. Great overall balance and a nice long and elegant finish. This is in a great spot now but it definitely has a lot of good years ahead. Drink from now until 2030. (IG)

2013 vintage

JB and SH for dinner : Screw cap. 13% alc. Fruit forward on the nose - cherry, strawberry, plum. Medium intensity on the broad and juicy palate. Integrated tannins and decent length here. Well made.

2013 vintage

Notes of ripe cherry, strawberry and a touch of black currant. Juicy with to little acidity.

2013 vintage

醒酒两小时，淡宝石红色，闻香有玫瑰花，熏肉，一些烟熏质感，樱桃，酸莓和一点奶味。香气是今天所有酒款里最开放的之一。其实我本人不太喜欢烟熏味，今天的很多款黑皮诺都有烟熏味，在2016年的Bell hill 里我也闻到了强烈的烟熏味，显得特别世俗，而今天这支2013的区别就在于，它的花香实在太强了，远远的盖过了烟熏，那高级感就出来了。入口酸度高，酒液咸，单宁打磨得很细，丝绒一样，非常漂亮的单宁质感，酒的结构不大，酒体偏轻，触感很柔和，红果伴随着花香，没有很多的深度和变化，走的是飘逸的风格，新鲜纯净的花果味一直延续到收尾，甜美悠长，嘴里也带着微微回甜，相得益彰。这确实是一款与众不同的新西兰黑皮诺，也是今晚整体表现最完整的酒，风格上绝对不是一款大酒，但却有着新西兰黑皮诺中少有的灵动，那柔软的触感让我想起了天堂 Il Paradiso di Manfredi 和 Bass Phillip。摆脱了沉重的尘土味似乎真的要脱离地球表面飞起来了，它就是今晚加强版的kupe，精致有余还多了一些鬼马精灵。醒酒四个小时后它重新坠入尘世，花香有些散去，口感开始往下，植物和肉鲜味明显，后段甚至感到一点回苦，这时候让我想到了夜……圣乔治？它最好的时刻已经留在了两个小时前和席间小伙伴偷尝的那几口。

2013 vintage

One of the 6 wines after a nice golf game, pairing with Japanese food. We all guessed wrong as a Burgundy 1er Cru. A wine with a good effort.

2013 vintage

As always a great bottle with everything you ever expect from a young pinot noir - perfume, fruit, balanced acidity, structure and fine tannin.

2013 vintage

Screw cap. 13% alc. Decanted 2 hours. Pure red fruits here, dried herbs, lifted florals. Super balance. The intensity and lift on the medium weighted palate is assured. Oak is so well measured. Tannins are fine and integrated. With time, there’s a savoury complexity that just seems to blur the lines between new and old world. Drinking so well now.

2013 vintage

Initially a bit reductive, almost slightly fizzy. But acid held up well, and some tannins too. Fizziness disappeared over the hours and the bottle was declared good. But time to drink up.

2009 vintage

PnP. Cherry, strawberry, blue fruits too. Attractive. There’s an earthy note in the background. A touch of spice and florals. Mid weight, with super fine tannins. Pristine and persistent.

2013 vintage

Burgundian nose, lots of tertiary notes at this stage, sweet on the mid palette and a mid length finish that’s just a touch rustic. Superbly light on its feet all the way through… Very enjoyable!

2013 vintage

Medium garnet colored. Intense nose with lots of savory cherry and blueberry notes and lots of green herbal notes. On the palate ripe red cherries, sweet strawberries, ripe blackberries, dark pepper and soft leather notes. Medium bodied with a fresh medium (+) acidity. Tannins feel silky and are integrated completely. Amazing complexity and a very good concentration. Great depth and an absolutely stunning mouth feeling. Beautiful overall balance. The finish is very long and leaves savory notes of different red …

2013 vintage

Blind, #0949. Ripe cherry nose with a slight cool herbalness, funny. Friends look at each other and claim familiarity of the wine; I knew this certainly was not Leroy, despite some aromatic resemblance. Alcohol somewhat evident on the palate. 92

2013 vintage

Light color, muted nose, minimal fruit flavor, dry finish. Hoping for more. Sell.

2013 vintage

Ruby red in color. The wine jumped out of bottle from start. It's the mix of ripe cherry raspberry and slight blackberry on the nose. On the palate it's consistent with nose, thick noticeable tannin, high concentration, energtic. Finish is long and gripping with pepper and leather hints. As time goes by, after an hour the tannin softens up. As the temperature rises the alcohol starts to feel on palate. Serving temperature really matters for this wine. A enjoyable wine, …

2013 vintage

Fine nose with young cherries, strawberries and dried herbs. On the palate cherries, green herbs, sandal wood and black pepper. Medium bodied with a fresh acidity. Great depth and complexity. Long savory finish. A very elegant and feminine Pinot Noir. Still in its primary phase - has many more interesting years ahead.

2013 vintage

Colour Med Garnet, bricking to clear on the edges , slight haze 14/15 Nose med intensity, fruit aromas on the decendancy now with earthy aromas, beetroot, cranberry dried herbs , lavender, spicy, rhubarb on the up , in the transition phase 27/30 Palate med to full bodied. Following on from the nose forest floor earthy, mushroom tobacco, clove, smoky, tarry get complexity with over arching acidity throughout the palate , long finish with clean acidity 40/44 Overall . This particular …

2009 vintage

I thought drinking pretty well. Acidic for sure, a little clunky out of balance fruit/oak but pretty good. Screwcap with a Tin liner I don�t think this is going to develop much from here in the next 5+ years. Good drinking now.

2009 vintage

Too young. Tart cherries on the nose and palate. Not in a position to rate the wine at this point.

2013 vintage

This bottle raises the old controversy of reduction and screw tops with a metallic, rusty taste dominating what appears to be a lovely structured palate of fruits. This is certainly a disappointment given the provenance and expectation.

2009 vintage

Changing in the glass, something I always enjoy. Like the Chardonnay, this needs more time to sort itself out. I'm hopeful for my last bottle in 5 years+.

2009 vintage

Taste of New Zealand - 2017 : Very floral with violets and roses, there is also raspberry, some autumn leaves and a smoky reductive note. The palate is pretty tight still, the fruit is restrained and along with the high acidity it feels a little awkward as it stands. Come back in a couple of years and it should have more clues as to where it is headed.

2009 vintage

SLDS March 2017 (Rocket) : Blind. Blood and iron, rose and violet floral notes, with cherry and some some graphite. Pristine fruit on the palate, with a lovely mineral side to it. Very good length here, this is already drinking well, but another 5 years might see it right in the zone.

2013 vintage

Medium red color; savory, dried herbs, stems, cranberry, light dill nose; savory, tart cranberry, dried herbs, earthy, light tobacco palate with medium acidity and tension; needs 2 years; medium-plus finish (12% whole cluster; 12 months in 100% new oak)

2013 vintage

Friday Lunch to view a new art aquisition (Ngaio, Wellington, New Zealand) : Superb New Zealand pinot. Very complex and savoury. This is a wine that has had quite a bot of winemaker input, yet is non the worse for it. Pinpoint balance, textbook beetroot complexity, plenty of smokey oak character. Outside of the mainstream for NZ, but this is a wine of international excellence.

2009 vintage

wow what can I say, fabulous and drinking like a pup , it will only get better with age

2009 vintage

Improving, very pale, more integrated, not sweet, nice finish

2009 vintage

Top quality NZ and US Pinot Noirs and Burgundies, with an old Loire to finish (Tinakori Bistro, Wellington) : Deep ruby colour. A gorgeous, lifted, high toned bouquet of mainly red berries, with spices and dark flowers. On palate this is an individual, intriguing pinot noir. It has lovely, smooth texture and big structure, explosive power (Thierry sees this as reminiscent of carbonic maceration winemaking) and good length. On the reveal of this cult Canterbury, NZ label, there was a …

2009 vintage

IPNC Seminars (McMinnville OR) : Tasting. From a moderate, less extreme vintage. Lush red and black cherry to start, seemingly very ripe when first poured, then softening and showing more nuance with more air. Spice also evolved, showing Asian five spice and soy. Big scaled with firm but elegant tannins. Vineyard is on the site of a former limestone quarry. Very good.

2009 vintage

consistent with previous note, still a bit of development to come I think

2009 vintage

Very pale atypical Pinot nose. Cherry & spice on the palate drinking well but worth seeing how it develops

2009 vintage

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Bell Hill, Pinot Noir, Canterbury

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