Description
Kumeu River, northwest of Auckland is without a doubt NZ’s finest chardonnay producer. Master of Wine and winemaker Michael Brajkovich has been crafting fine chardonnay at the estate since the 1980’s. Hand picked fruit and vigorous selection from the low yielding vines, whole bunch pressed, wild yeasts, 100% fermented in French oak barriques and full malolactic fermentation to soften the pristine acidity and add texture and dimension. Not surprising Michael is not shy in comparing his Chardonnays with the great White Burgundies like Domain Leflaive!
At a blind tasting in London (May 2015) of the most highly esteemed White Burgundies with a panel of experts (included leading wine writers Jancis Robinson and Neal Martin of eRobertParker.com) the Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay 2012 was the hightest rated wine against Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet and Anne-Claude Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet .. wines vastly more expensive! As Jancis reported .. “won hands down, costing a fraction of the wines they trounced” and added that “the Kumeu wines shone because they were better made and more sophisticated….fresh as a daisy and clearly a glorious future ahead”. Other comments from the tasting …. Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate .. “Kumeu River’s Chardonnays … some of the best in the world … a world-class estate producing world-class wines.” Mathew Jukes “…crushed the Old World stars with ease! You must find a space for these wines in your cellar …these are incredible wines. One sip is all that is needed to add Kumeu to your list of greats.”
Ray’s Road is Kumeu River’s vineyard site in Hawkes Bay. This limestone hillside is at 180 m altitude, with a northerly aspect. It is dry-farmed to yield high quality grapes for wine under the Rays Road name for our Kumeu River label. This Chardonnay was hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and fermented with wild yeast in older French Oak barrels to give a wine that is zesty and fragrant, with mineral complexity that is very true to its site.
Hand harvested Whole-bunch pressed Indigenous yeast fermentation 100% barrel fermentation 100% malo-lactic fermentation 11 months maturation in barrel.
About the 2022 vintage from the winemaker “With the 2022 vintage Rays Road produced very clean and ripe fruit from this unique site. 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. The result is an exciting Rays Road Chardonnay showing white flowers and lemon on the nose, with rich texture and vibrant acidity on the palate. This wine is a terrific addition to the Kumeu River range and we are now seeing the quality advance that we were expecting from this site.
Reviews of 2021: 93 Points, James Suckling “Mangoes, lemon curd, baked apples, hazelnuts, custard and some salted caramel. Ripe and creamy with a full body. Tropical fruit and buttery layers balanced by bright acidity.”
94 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front “Nectarine, nougat, a little cinnamon and freshly cut fennel. It’s smooth and flavoursome, oatmeal and almond, juicy grapefruit acidity, a lightly chalky texture, and fruity but tight finish of excellent length. Delightful.”
94 Points, Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review “Tangy, refreshing wine with white peach, apple, lime/citrus, ginger/yeast lees and subtle spicy oak flavours with a thread of oyster shell/saline characters. Stylish wine from a favourable vintage.”
RRP $63 Our Price $57.99 – LAST OF THIS VINTAGE
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