Based in the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury, the artisan wine making ethos of Bellbird Spring utilises an array of traditional techniques; must oxidation, indigenous yeast ferments, natural neutral fermenting vessels and minimal additives to name but a few. The results are deep, lively wines, made to pair with food, often offering styles seldom seen in NZ.
For example, their vin de terroir, the Home Block White (made on one hectare of the original Home Block Site), is an Alsatian Field Blend in style, offering a mix of Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Muscat Ottonell. Equally as leftfield is their Sous Voile. A Pinot Gris aged in old oak barrels under a veil of yeast, and which delivers a Jura meets Amontillado spectrum of nuts and dried fruit on the palate.
Then there’s the two recently released Vin Doux Naturel, the Muté ‘L’Alouette’ and Muté ‘Les Épices’, the former made with late picked Sauvignon Blanc and the latter Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Muscat. Whole bunches are pressed into old oak barrels, and a wild fermentation is prematurely extinguished through the addition of their own pot still brandy, resulting in a luscious sweetness, tempered and complexed by rich brandy elements.
But this is not to forget the staple NZ varietals of Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris, grown both on the Home Block vineyard, with its light and free draining Glasnevin Gravel, and their latest Block 8 site, composed of stony, sandy Domett Clay, and giving the wine further weight and deeper aromatics.
This tasting will offer a chance to taste beyond the mainstream, and compare site specifics side by side, with a line-up of nine handsome wines...
