Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay 2021
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Winemaker Notes
Hunting Hill is very distinctive in its terroir typicity, with piercing lemon/lime fruit lift and floral notes on the nose, richness and volume in the mouth followed by lingering acidity and minerality on the finish. This is an absolute classic example of how great the Chardonnay grape can be: A beautifully powerful, yet elegant and complex wine with long term aging ability.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has aromas of flint, toast, jasmine, dried pineapples, lemons and sea shells. Some cardamom and salted butter. Classy and driven, with a medium to full body and tight, sleek layers. Perfumed and bright. Everything in balance.
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Wine Enthusiast
The third in a trio of outstanding vintages, and also winemaker Michael Brajkovich MW’s 40th vintage, Hunting Hill has similar longevity, having been planted 41 years ago. A lift of white peach, lemon curd and floral notes are dappled with flinty minerality and toast. There’s richness to the palate, but the fruit is vibrant, buoyed by crystalline acidity, and gently supported by toasty oak. A class act with at least another decade of cellaring ahead of it
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Wine Spectator
Shows a sleek frame, with fresh pear, lime and Fuji apple flavors leaping out of the glass. Offers wonderful purity and transparency, with a clear thread of minerality, lemon zest and orange blossoms, gaining momentum on the finish.
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2022- Vinous
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Founded in 1944 by Mick Brajkovich, wife Katé and son Maté, Kumeu River was one of the early pioneers in Auckland, New Zealand, that helped to establish its reputation as a world-class wine region. Still family owned and run, Kumeu River continues to pioneer new frontiers: winemaker Michael Brajkovich became New Zealand’s first member of the prestigious Institute of Masters of Wine, London, they have been testing and championing screw cap closures for close to 20 years and the winery has gone on to become the globally recognized benchmark for non-Burgundy produced Chardonnay. All Kumeu River wines are hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and demonstrate exclusive use of indigenous yeast fermentation.
The Chardonnays of Kumeu River have gained a strong foothold within the international market, continuously and consistently receiving outstanding accolades. The winery is a globally recognized benchmark for age-worthy Chardonnay outside of Burgundy.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Grape-growers in the local subregions of Clevedon, Matakana and Waiheke Island, focusing on vineyard techniques to maximize quality, are producing very fine Bordeaux Blends from local grapes. Auckland is also an industrial area where winemakers can produce quality wines based on sourced grapes from neighboring regions.