2009 Bell Hill Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
The 2009 Pinot Noir gives a bright medium ruby color and aromas of kirsch, warm cranberries, cinnamon stick and a waft of anise. Medium to full-bodied and more of a muscular style in the mouth, it has a solid backbone of medium to firm, very finely grained tannins and lively acid, finishing long and layered. Drink this one 2014 to 2019+. First planted in 1997, as the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines continue to mature on this incredibly placed remote vineyard and winery positioned on an old limestone quarry, Bell Hill just gets more and more exciting. Marcel Giesen and Sherwyn Veldhuizen have raised the bar high here, not just for New Zealand but for the world. Production is tiny and sadly even tinier in 2010 due to poor flowering. Only 1.5 barrels of the Chardonnay and 4 barrels of the Pinot Noir were produced in 2010 but the wines, in a word, rock. Anyone who truly wants to understand the potential of New Zealand’s greatest terroirs must find a bottle of Bell Hill. Importer: Ronnie Sanders, Vine Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA; tel. (215) 533 9464; Terrell Wines, www.terrellwines.com
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Bright ruby. Ripe red fruits on the nose. An interesting strawberry note like mature rioja. Sweet start and lovely crystalline freshness afterwards plus fine tannins. Chewy finish but transparent overall. (JR)
An eight-barrel selection from three blocks: Shelf, Limeworks, Quarry, each fermented and aged separately. 10-15% stems. 100% new oak for 13 months, then the whole-bunch and crushed portions were blended. Further 10 months in tank before bottling. pH 3.66, TA 5.4 g/l. Fragrant red fruit. Lightly floral note more than stemmy. Dry finesse in the tannins tightly wound around the dense and spicy dark fruit. Much more density than the Old Weka Pass Road 2009 and a more mineral, fine-boned length with the power in a refined mode. (JH)