Kumeu River Rays Road Chardonnay 2024

James Suckling ,95/100 punten
"Tangy and flavorful on a focused and energized palate. Medium-bodied, bright and fresh, with sliced Asian pear flavors that are pristine and vivid."

Wine Front, 93+/100 punten
"The odd one out in the Kumeu Chardonnay lineup, not in a bad way, more because its from Hawkes Bay. Here’s a juicy and flavoursome expression of Chardonnay. Lots of peach, ripe lime, honey biscuits. aniseed and spice. It fairly bursts with peach and lime, though the acidity is tight and balanced, and it feels quite flinty, has some glycerol richness and finishes zesty and fruity with excellent length and a chalky flourish. Very tasty. Needs a year or so to calm its farm, though there’s no problem enjoying its flavour-packed charm now either."

Huon Hooke 93/100 punten
"Herbal aromas, fresh-picked green herbs, cucumber and lime, a tease of honey: a more fruit-driven bouquet, the palate tensioned and focused, with very good penetration and length, the bouquet building smoky snuffed candle and flint characters as it airs. A more pointed and tense wine than the Kumeu Estate."

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92-94/100 punten
"The 2024 Rays Road Chardonnay leads with a spicy, almost exotic nose, while the palate strides in smooth, sleek movements. This is creamy and a little nutty, and there are wet limestone notes in the mouth, alongside yellow citrus and layers of dried herbs, cracked fennel seeds, ginger root and fruit flavors. A lovely wine, it's weighted on the back palate and long through the finish. I tasted this as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling. The Ray's Road vineyard is on a limestone base and has been significantly worked and replanted since the Kumeu River purchase in 2021."

Jancis Robinson MW, 17/20 punten
"Hand-harvested, whole-bunch pressed before 100% spontaneous barrel ferment in French oak (very little new but they have been experimenting with barrels given a long, light toast) with 100% malo. 11 months' ageing in barrel. They bought the vineyard they call Rays Road in time for the 2018 vintage. 25 ha total, of which Chardonnay is about 12 ha producing but it will increase. Dry-farmed except for young vines. About 2,000 cases-worth of the fruit goes into wine labelled Kumeu River (mainly Chardonnay) and the rest, including all of the Sauvignon Blanc that had been planted by Trinity Hill and P Jolivet and is currently being replanted, is sold off as grapes. Two clones: 548 and 15 from UCD (also known as the Prosser clone, imported by Warren Moran). They will also eventually use virus-free Mendoza, too. This bottling is the pick of Rays Road vineyard and they may eventually bottle different blocks separately. Mid to deep greenish gold. Toasty and glamorous on the nose. They aim to make a Chablis style because it's all limestone so very lively and tense. I'd say the acidity isn't as pronounced as a typical Chablis. Real grip on the palate. Very long with lots of tension."