Possessing a pretty perfume of honeysuckle, fresh peaches and coriander seeds, the 2008 Chardonnay reveals a chalky undercurrent with coaxing. Wonderfully intense and packed with tightly-wound flavors, it is still very youthful and has a lingering fruity finish with a touch of new oak poking through. Approachable now, it should drink to 2018+. 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