2016 Bell Hill Chardonnay
North Canterbury, NZ
Showstopping Chardonnay at the peak of new world examples of the variety.
$190.00
Out of Stock
Destroys the bulk of fancy Burgundy. Dive in, people.
Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
About The Wine
The wines of Bell Hill hold an almost mythical status amongst collectors of New Zealand's finest and rarest wines.
Marcel Giesen and Sherwyn Veldhuizen reject the term 'winemakers', they consider themselves 'winegrowers', seeing the creation of wine as a wholistic, all-encompassing mission. Their Bell Hill dream commenced in 1995 when they found their dream plot of land: a limestone slope in North Canterbury that would be perfect for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with incredible structure and longevity.
Today their wines are rarely seen outside of the finest restaurants. The role-call of critical acclaim for these wines is as long as your arm. No list of New Zealand's most important wines would be complete without these beautiful creations.
The Chardonnay shows incredible power and intensity. A blend of their best fruit from the blend from the Shelf, Limeworks blocks planted in 2009 & 1999 and the Roadblock, this has an almost impossible density and extension of flavour.
This sits comfortably amonst the finest Chardonnays of the new world.
Photo Credit: Wine Anorak
From The Producer
The Bell Hill Chardonnay is a select barrel blend from the Shelf, Limeworks (2009 & 1999 blocks), and Roadblock. The fruit was a combination of whole cluster pressed and crushed but not de-stemmed, depending on block, in our tank press followed by 12 months in French oak (20% new) and 7 months in tank. The wine was bottled on the 3rd of November 2017 with a pH of 3.30, TA of 6.3 g/L, and alcohol of 13%. 3,240 bottles were produced. We kept a portion of the Limeworks block aside and have bottled this separately as a single block blend which we plan to give more time and release with the 2017 vintage.
Blend : Chardonnay (100%)
Drink Until : 2030
North Canterbury, NZ
Critic Reviews
"Bell Hill Chardonnay 2016 Very intense, very refined and very complex chardonnay with a lemon, yellow-grapefruit and white-peach nose, as well as flinty, stony notes. Continues with a very intense palate that has cool, white and yellow peach flavors and a chiseled, refined long finish. Superior power and refined, pristine fruit here. Drink now." - Nick Stock (JamesSuckling.com)
"Flint and steel, green apple, floral notes, water biscuits. So precise and tight, racy, insanely minerally and pure, energy to burn. Purity, freshness, vibrant and just so damn energetic, the whole thing mouthwatering and delicious, like the finest texture married to the most tense fruit character. How is this possible? It’s mesmerising and memorable. People will talk about their experience with this wine. Damn. Wow." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
Delivery is Free for any order of $99 or more, or just $10 for any orders less than $99. There is no minimum order quantity and you can order in any combination you like. Make your perfect mixed pack!
Estimated Delivery Times for each postcode can be viewed here.
Authority to Leave and other delivery instructions can be left in the ‘SPECIAL REQUESTS’ box during checkout. The 'SPECIAL REQUESTS' box can be found on the here page before the final checkout page.
Warehouse Pickupis available from our Sydney warehouse in Ultimo, 2007. Just select Local Pickup at checkout. We are open 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Our Heat Policy can be viewed here. If you would like us to hold dispatch of your order for milder weather please leave instructions to do so in the 'SPECIAL REQUESTS' box found on the cart page before the final checkout. We are happy to hold it for as long as you like. All orders are fully insured so you can buy with full confidence that these tasty beverages will get to you in tip-top shape.
Returns are free for 100 days after purchase. You can view the conditions of our return policy here
For any other shipping related inquiries, please see our helpful FAQ, email us at hello@differentdrop.com or call us on 02 8376 8775..
Do I have to order in dozens? No, please mix it up! You can order wines in any quantity and variation you like. You can order 1 bottle or 50. We challenge you to make the ultimate mixed pack of wine!
Are there volume discounts? No, our pricing is designed to be the best in market already - no marking up and then discounting down! For very large orders (weddings, etc) we are open to negotiating though. Just give us a call.
Do we price match? Yes, within reason. Everyday low & consistent pricing is something we strongly believe in. We want our customers to feel confident they are always getting the best price. If you see a price lower somewhere else let us know and we'll consider matching it. We'll even retrospectively issue you store credit if you have already purchased from us but you see a lower price somewhere later on. Our price match policy can be seen here.
Can coupons and discounts be stacked? No, only one discount or coupon can be applied to an order at once.
I am trying to add more of a wine to my cart but it won’t let me? This means we are running low on stock of that wine. So for example, if the website will only allow you to add 3 bottles and no more, then that is all we have of that particular wine. The good news is we may be able to order more for you. Just contact us on 02 8376 8775 or hello@differentdrop.com and we'll organise the additional quantity for you.
Does Different Drop have a physical store? No. Just an a warehouse/office. We occasionally do events however, so sign up to our newsletter or follow us on instagram to stay in the loop.
Can I special order a wine you do not sell? If it’s doable, then we’ll make it happen. Just contact us directly via phone, chat or email and we’ll find out for you right away. Please note that in most cases special orders such as these will need to be in full case lots (6 or 12 bottles).
More FaQs: here
Sign up for the latest news & special offers
No spam, just the good stuff!