Previous Vintages

All of our wines are estate grown at Bell Hill and go back to our first four vintages of Old Weka Pass Road Pinot Noir from 1999 to 2002 before our inaugural Bell Hill Pinot Noir 2003 vintage and Bell Hill Chardonnay 2004 vintage.

 

 

2006 VINTAGE

The season of the 2006 vintage came with record-breaking events after spring as had the last few seasons. December proved to be the warmest in 71 years and the third warmest since records began in the 1860's with the national average temperature at 17.5 degrees, 1.9 degrees above average. Canterbury was the driest area in the country but like many other parts of NZ, it was down on sunshine hours for that month. We had very rapid flowering resulting in good fruit set and an even rate of ripening in the formed bunches. The crop was thinned down to around 2 tonnes per acre and we see this vintage as the strongest at Bell Hill to date.

Harvest commenced on the 8th of April with the Pinot Noir (24.6 Brix, 3.61pH, 5.25g/L TA) and Chardonnay (23.8 Brix, 3.1pH, 10.05g/L TA) from the Shelf. We then had a period of warm Northwest weather over Easter pushing the other blocks on at a very even pace. The Limeworks Pinot Noir (25.1 Brix, 3.60pH, 6.38g/L TA) and Quarry Rootlings Pinot Noir (25.4 Brix, 3.65pH, 7.35g/L TA) were picked on the 19th of April and the Quarry 10/5 Pinot Noir (26.2 Brix, 3.45pH, 8.21g/L TA) on the 20th of April. The lower part (around 25%) of the Quarry 10/5 Pinot Noir (25.5 Brix, 3.49pH, 8.14g/L TA) came in on the 24th of April. This has been our ripest year in terms of sugar levels which is not necessarily what we aim for but what has been gratifying is the turning point of the 10/5 clone for us. Characteristically this clone has required an extra week for ripening but it came in with the Dijon clones both due to the heat we had over Easter and some very rigorous crop thinning in order to balance this naturally heavier cropping clone and bring it more into line with our other clones. This certainly paid off from a quality point of view and has helped us achieve the long-term goal of making our Bell Hill wines the major offering from the vintage.

The Pinot Noir was de-stemmed, with no crushing and one week each for cold maceration and fermentation, with up to 28 days total on the skins with warm post ferment maceration. The Quarry Rootlings and lower part of the Quarry 10/5 had a little less time on skins with 27 and 21 days respectively. The wines were matured underground in our cellar, undergoing natural malolactic fermentation very late (into February and March) due to the very cool spring and summer and constant temperature underground. Finally they finished at the end of March and have spent a total of 18 months in barrel. All of the 10 barrels of Pinot Noir were new 3 year air-dried oak.

The Chardonnay was crushed before basket pressing to create juice pathways and fermented with yeast and some retained solids in predominantly older wood, undergoing natural malolactic fermentation in the following late summer.

BELL HILL 
PINOT NOIR 2006

Aromatically a little shy at first but opening up with time to show meaty and savoury elements. Violets and floral characters give an aromatic presence that is complemented by an earthy stone oven scent. The palate has tightly packed layers of fruit that unravel around a dense core and volumises with time. The ripe, soft flowing tannins open up to show intensifying strength and clear energy. Elegance and balance weave around the lifted fruit and add length and subtlety that reveals more with each mouthful.


BELL HILL 
CHARDONNAY 2006

Very clear and focused aromatics show minerals and white peach. The palate is very straight with a long, clear focus and the nervosity of acidity gives the wine life. Spices, roasted aniseed and fennel can be found in the flavour profile complementing the purity and elegance. There is a slight barrel influence giving a subtle smoky, hay tone. The wine is powerful and dense, not in its total impact and weight but more in its length of flavour. The calcareous influenced acidity acts as a spiral core to the fruit giving it tension and allowing a clear definition of flint and wet stone to come to the forefront of the wine.


OLD WEKA PASS ROAD
PINOT NOIR 2006

Spicy, earthy notes of spring forest floor and dark cherry fruit are the focus of the aromatics. The fruit is very available on the palate, again with dark cherry characters complemented by liquorice notes and hints of lichen. The palate holds on to the fruit and fine, savoury tannins give a textural and expansive aspect to the wine which develops with time in the glass.