Kumeu River Chardonnay Rays Road 2022
“Despite being in the humid climes of West Auckland, New Zealand’s most famous Chardonnay producer continues to provide a benchmark for the rest of the country to emulate.” -Vinous
Rays Road is Kumeu River’s new vineyard site in Hawkes Bay and this is the first year of the bottling. Needless to say, it’s already a hit. This limestone hillside is at 180m altitude, with a northerly aspect, making it an ideal place to grow cool-climate Chardonnay. 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.
Original price was: $50.00.$35.00Current price is: $35.00.
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93 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2022 Rays Road Chardonnay is fine and spicy, with a tense line of acidity and phenolics—they feel linear and interwoven—that stream through the fruit. This is a very pretty, pithy Chardonnay with ground white pepper, white flesh peach, crushed shells, layers of juniper berry and star anise/cut fennel inflections. I like the staying power of the fruit in the mouth. It is persistent and long. This is really nicely done, and I’m looking forward to seeing this wine (and this vineyard) more over its journey.
93 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
“A new wine in the line-up and it pleases me greatly to see that it comes from Hawke’s Bay. I adore Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and I can certainly see why these coolish climate kings have chosen to seek more fruit and also more challenges in this part of Kiwiland. I love Rays road. Classy, layered and complete this is a very different take on this grape from the remainder of the portfolio, given that the rest come from Kumeu (north of Auckland). There is a distinct beginning, middle and end here, which is often a challenge in a new wine and particularly I love the acid line and elegance on the finish.”
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