Winemaker Notes
Hunting Hill is very distinctive in its terroir typicity, with piercing lemon/lime fruit lift and florality 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. Pair well with seafood, chicken, pasta, and risotto.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A complex chardonnay with yellow citrus, as well as lemon-curd and creamy tones. Light hazelnut, too. The palate has such all-encompassing, fresh peachy flavors and builds impressively through the long, full finish.
-
Vinous
The 2020 Chardonnay Hunting Hill is a spicy little number. It offers five spice and cloves, joining nectarine and grapefruit-like fruit. What I like about this is its persistence, understatement and grip. The first time I tasted this wine, it reminded me of Forrest Gump running—it doesn't stop.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This vintage of 2020, like the others in Kumeu's single vineyard stable, is a top-notch bottling with tension, depth and length. It deftly balances juicy citrus and pineapple fruit with floral, ginger and saline notes along a line of tingly acidity and chalky texture. It's a complete and approachable wine now
-
Wine Spectator
Powerful and fragrant, with roasted pineapple, apricot and yellow peach flavors that are ripe, juicy and fleshy, with terrific intensity and an appealing touch of salted caramel on the long finish. Drink now
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.