{"product_id":"2021-bell-hill-chardonnay","title":"2021 Bell Hill Chardonnay","description":"\u003cp\u003eBell Hill’s Chardonnay consistently sets the bar for New Zealand’s cool-climate expressions. The 2021 vintage threw up some serious challenges, including spring frosts that damaged up to 35% of the crop and a drawn-out flowering period that further reduced yields. However, mild weather running into harvest and incredibly focused work on the sorting tables ensured the surviving fruit was pristine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis release is a meticulous 6-barrel blend from the Shelf, Roadblock, and Limeworks parcels in the Waipara Valley. Because of those tiny yields, the team didn't produce a Single Parcel Chardonnay this year, meaning all that top-tier juice went straight into this bottling. The winemaking is purist and patient: mostly whole-cluster pressed, fermented with natural vineyard yeasts, and put through natural malolactic fermentation. It spent 12 months in French oak (just 17% new) before its first sulfur addition, and was then racked to tank for an additional 8 months of settling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt opens with a salivating, sea-breeze minerality, wet stones, and white florals, flowing into a vibrant palate of lime and fresh cream. As it takes on air, it builds a beautiful, textural grapefruit pith character that drives a tense, tactile finish. With only  1,795 bottles produced, it is fiercely limited and an essential addition for collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e98 points\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The purity of fruit in this vibrant and vivid wine is electrifying... Zesty, complex and textured. It changes in the glass constantly. A benchmark chardonnay for New Zealand.\"\u003cbr\u003e- James Suckling\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e97 points\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The bouquet opens with tight, flinty aromas of lime flower, spearmint, lemon, crisp apple, green olive and wet stone, with nutty complexity gradually emerging... Very impressive overall, but this wine needs considerable time in bottle to come around.\"\u003cbr\u003e- Stephen Wong (The Real Review)\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e","brand":"Bell Hill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43097774325803,"sku":"2021 Bell Hill Chardonnay","price":325.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2572\/9722\/files\/VW_BellHillChardonnay_700x_52bd46fa-9cc1-48fe-9221-096d69e6b4a2.png?v=1772056353","url":"https:\/\/www.differentdrop.com\/products\/2021-bell-hill-chardonnay","provider":"Different Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}