Winemaker Notes
The aroma immediately reveals the limestone flintiness and citrus that this vineyard is known for. The palate is concentrated and has a density Kumeu River hasn't seen before.
Professional Ratings
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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.
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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. It seems heavier on style than on site expression, but is nevertheless a lovely wine with tension, depth and aging potential.
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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.
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Wine Spectator
Notes of toasted sesame seed and matcha add a savory thread to complement the intense lemon, pomelo and apricot flavors, with touches of crunchy Asian pear and lemon balm on the finish. Drink now through 2034. 113 cases imported.
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.
An eclectic region on the east coast of the North Island, Hawkes Bay extends from wide, fertile, coastal plains, inland, to the coast range, whose peaks reach as high as 5,300 feet. While the flatter areas were historically more popular because they are easier to cultivate, their alluvial soils can be too fertile for vines. In the late 20th century, the drive for quality led growers to the hills where soils are free-draining, limestone-rich and more suited to producing high quality wines.
Over the passing of time, the old Ngaruroro River laid down deep, gravelly beds, which were subsequently exposed after a huge flood in the 1860’s. In the 1980s growers identified this stretch, which continues for approximately 800 ha, and named it the Gimblett Gravels. The zone has proven to be ideal for the production of excellent red wines, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.
Today the area takes well-earned recognition for its Bordeaux blends and other reds. Expressive of intense stewed red and black berry with gentle herbaceous characters, Gimblett Gravels wines are suggestive of their cool climate origin, and on par with other top-notch Bordeaux blends around the globe.
Chardonnay is the top white grape in Hawkes Bay, making elegant wines, strong in stone fruit character. Sauvignon blanc comes in close behind, notable for its tropical, fruit forward qualities.