2023 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay, Kumeu Auckland

Aromas of apples, white peaches and steel with hints of lemongrass, fresh basil, flint and white flowers. Medium- to full-bodied with a tight and dense center palate and a crunchy and flavorful finish. Energetic acidity. So fresh yet dense at the same time.

96 points jamessuckling.com Jun 2024

Once again the Chardonnay wines, particularly the Single Vineyards, are shining examples of the Kumeu style. The terroir differences between various parcels are very distinct, really highlighting their individual personalities. Pinot Gris is also very strong this year with high sugar levels, and with some Botrytis influence producing rich and textural wines.

Our Rays Road vineyard in Hawkes Bay continues to improve greatly as the new plantings gain maturity. Ripening was pretty much in parallel with Kumeu, which made for a very busy time in the winery for an intense period of pressing and fermenting. We are now receiving significant quantities of Chardonnay from the new plantings, based on Clones 15 and 548. These allow for a much deeper and more nuanced expression of the Chardonnay variety than the existing Clone 95 plantings, but still with the zesty minerality on the palate. Similarly with Pinot Noir, we now have new plantings of the most up-to-date Dijon selections from Burgundy: Clones 828 and 935. While still in very small quantities, it is obvious even now that these will have an enormous positive impact on the quality of our Rays Road Pinot Noir. These are exciting times indeed.