Kumeu River 'Rays Road' Chardonnay 2023 - 750ml

94pts James Suckling

A tight, focused and dense white. Sliced cooked apples, minerals and stone, with hints of dried mangoes. It’s medium-bodied and focused with a flavorful finish. Lime undertones. Drink or hold

94pts Wine Enthusiast

The newest Kumeu vineyard, located on a limestone-strewn site in Hawke's Bay, Ray's Road offers a combo of roasted chestnut and toffee notes with preserved lemon, salted guava and white grapefruit nuances. Lively acidity cuts through those toastier, nuttier nuances. Seems heavier on style than on site expression, but is nevertheless a lovely wine with tension, depth and aging potential, right through to 2033. 

92pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Vinous

It's amazing that a 2023 Chardonnay Rays Road was even made, considering Cyclone Gabrielle left many homes and vineyards underwater or even washed them away. At 180m, the vineyard at Rays Road escaped flooding but not the rain. It's a tight, spritely wine with a freshly squeezed lemon on papaya and nectarine flavor. The crisp yet ripe fruit is followed up with bracing acidity that pierces its core and pushes it through. No new oak here, leaving the fruit to shine. Moderate length.

Tasting Notes

The aroma immediately reveals the limestone flintiness and citrus that this vineyard is known for. The palate is concentrated and has a density we haven’t seen before.

About the Wine

Rays Road is one of Kumeu River's 4 single vineyard Chardonnays.This wine is produced from Kumeu River's only single vineyard located outside of the region of Kumeu. They purchased the Rays Road vineyard in 2017, which was established in 2008 by Pascal Jolivet from Sancerre, France and Trinity Hill of New Zealand. This property is located far inland of Hawke’s Bay in a lesser known sub-region and at a uniquely high elevation. It is quite exposed to the elements but these conditions seem to perfectly challenge the vines.

Vineyard Notes

Rays Road is Kumeu River’s new 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.

Winery Notes

Family owned and operated since 1944 by the Brajkovich family, Kumeu River was one of the early pioneers in Auckland, New Zealand and helped establish its reputation as a word-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.