2023 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay
The Wine Advocate
RP 95
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
Release Price: NA
Drink Date: 2024 - 2033 ⇒飲み頃に入っています
The 2023 Hunting Hill Chardonnay is the most concentrated of the collection so far with the Ray's Road wine still to be tasted. This vineyard is very close to the Maté's vineyard, up on the slope overlooking the other. The wine has nuances of sun-dried kelp, scratched lemon peel, yellow peach and churned butter/almond meal richness. This is likely more in line with the vineyard expression "as we know it," with a floral lift through the finish. This is a really good wine here. It's nutty, salty and floral. 12.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Dec 20, 2024
2023 Kumeu River Rays Road Chardonnay
The Wine Advocate
RP 92
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
Release Price: NA
Drink Date: 2024 - 2033 ⇒飲み頃に入っています
The Ray's Road vineyard is in Hawke's Bay, southeast of Auckland, on a north-facing slope at 180 meters above sea level. It is planted on limestone and dry-grown. The 2023 Rays Road Chardonnay is reductive, nutty and saline, with green inflections that highlight the solids in the wine. This is the most complex of the wines in this release, with curry leaf and saffron, sugar snap peas, green apple and caper brine in profusion, yet I feel it is also the most angular and the most obvious. Those seeking intensity of flavor will be attracted to this cuvée the most, for its intensity and depth, however it lacks the quiet focus of the other wines. 12.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Dec 20, 2024
2021 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Pinot Noir
The Wine Advocate
RP 91
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
Release Price: NA
Drink Date: 2024 - 2031 ⇒飲み頃に入っています
The 2021 Hunting Hill Pinot Noir leads with pistachio and rose hip, cranberry, sliced deli meats and peppercorns, with a hint of cheesecloth and tapenade. In the mouth, the wine is silky and light weight, with a smoky drift of tannin through the finish. Whether this smokiness is an oak character or from the skins in some way, I don't know, but I do find it curious. The acidity and the fruit work in concert in the mouth to provide freshness, detail and levity in spades. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Feb 07, 2025
2023 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay
The Wine Advocate
RP 91
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
Release Price: NA
Drink Date: 2023 - 2033 ⇒飲み頃に入っています
The 2023 Estate Chardonnay leads with preserved citrus, white flowers, crushed nuts and brine. In the mouth, the wine is light and lacy—hints of green apple, nectarine and a little tangerine—with taut acidity that vibrates through the ethereally weighted fruit. It's a light iteration of this wine and lovely for it. It was made with handpicked fruit, whole-bunch pressed and barrel fermented using indigenous yeasts. 12.5% alcohol's sealed under screw cap.
Published: Dec 20, 2024
2022 Kumeu River Village Pinot Noir
The Wine Advocate
RP 89
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
Release Price: NA
Drink Date: 2023 - 2029 ⇒飲み頃に入っています
Ninety percent of the 2022 Village Pinot Noir comes from the Hawke's Bay vineyard called Ray's Road. This is sappy, spicy and red fruited. There's not a lot of heft or density in the fruit, but it has a sprig of leaf, cherry, strawberry and white pepper. Pretty little thing. There's no oak at all—primary and malolactic fermentation were both in tank, and then the wine was bottled straight from there quite early in October-ish. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Dec 15, 2023