Wonderful Chardonnay from one of my favorite new world producers. This is premier cru level Chardonnay. Excellent fruit character ripe apple and pear. A touch of oak brings vanilla and butterscotch notes with a hint of clove on the palate. 93 points.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Screw cap, no cork but no worries. This is excellent chardonnay that allows one to enjoy the purity of fruit and terroir. Light gold color, citrusy initially then a fairly broad palate feel with mineralogy and acidity. Hints of butterscotch but nothing like an overlooked West Coast American chardonnay. Good length and finish. This drinks somewhat like a premier cru Puligny Montrachet at less than half the cost.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A rare note on a wine not from my cellar. My friend served this and it was outstanding, akin to a premier cru White Burgundy. Intense fruit/earth/mineral flavors. Worth seeking out.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful bouquet with a light dose of good oak, a bit restrained on the nose, but there are some white and yellow fruits. Same on the palate, minerals, good citrus, full bodied and tasty and an enormous length.
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Definitely reductive and had layers of oak on top of significant white fruits. Long finish - keeps going. I made a mistake of PnP and really didn’t show what it had until an hour or 90 min later. I would certainly decant on my next bottle.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Really happy I learned of Kumeu River Chardonnay and definitely want to try some of their other Chards. Really well made and a joy to drink. Lots of luscious tropical fruit notes and nice minerality.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Really enjoyed this NZ Chardonnay and definitely plan to drink some of the other offerings from this producer. Very well made and balanced with luscious flavors of minerals, cream, tropical notes and pineapple.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lots of thoughts here on this one. I used to sell this brand. And drinking it young was the only way I ever tasted it. I have not had an older Kumeu River wine. I decanted this wine for 30 minutes before trying a glass. The glasses after 1 hour were way more rewarding. Definitely Divo this wine at 55 degrees and above.
Color. Pale yellow.
Nose. Straw, marigolds, flint, wet stones, grilled lemon. When it was first opened there was a burnt matchstick or creosote smell. Very rich, but not a Pahlmeyer Chardonnay.
Palate. Starts with zippy acidity and tons of lemon. Moves into butter and rich character. Fades to fresh orange juice and oak. Very dynamic wine. Finish lasts 15-20 seconds. It's very sophisticated and balanced. Exceptional wine. Needs a longer finish to get me really excited.
Another nice bottle. This one had more matchstick character. Still very young but lots of promise. Double decanted and served, wine was best after 3 hours. Kept gaining weight and complexity. Strong potential
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Super QPR… very burgundian white flowers, pear and lemon. Mineral and long. Needs a decant at this stage. Worth every penny. Blind i would have called 1er cru chassagne. Upside likely
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium yellow color. Full nose of talcum, yellow pear, white peach, soft butter and cream. Dry, soft acidity, palate follows through. Medium body, fantastic balance, medium+ finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very good wine. Nice fresh white fruit on the nose on pop and pour. Slight carbonic fizz due to the youth. We capped it off with argon and came back a couple of nights later. At this point became a little bit sweet and somewhat tropical, still very drinkable with good balance and density. Agree that with luck this wine will improve with age but already excellent and a great QPR.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very nice, rich buttery example - to me the closest to a Burgundian style in the Kumeu range. Perhaps slightly early to crack this - the bit left in the bottle was better the next day.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner at Huat Kee. This was decanted for ~3-hrs, and blinded (in a Burg btl). Funnily enough, one of our dinner/wine companions blinded another white-Burg in a Kumeu btl... Anyway, this started cold, not giving away much 'cept for perhaps a bit of reductive matchstick/flint. Asked dinner companions to pour it into a larger Burg glass (Riedel Pinot-type), and wait while we progressed to savour our other wines. With time/air, and another degree (or so) of warmth, this started opening up to reveal nice scents of white flowers & peaches. Lime/citrus on the palate, this presented itself in a linear manner but also gained amplitude/energy as it got more air/time through the dinner. Already a delicious wine with a lengthy finish, this will no doubt improve further with more bottle-age!
Footnote: Most if not all guessed this as a Burg...
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Concentrated orchard fruit with a buttery mid-palate and some spice box and slight oak. Alcohol is readily apparent. This was a heavy style and came off as slightly unbalanced. The wife did not like it, though perhaps the pairing with pesto veggie orzo was a poor choice. Perhaps this was just too young and age will help it find balance. I will try and remember to revisit my other two bottles when they have a little more age on them. 14% ABV.
Not dissimilar to the Mate’s of the same vintage, but with more structure, spice and less creamy mouthfeel. More white stone fruit and grapefruit, leaner and carrying the spicey cinnamon oak more obviously that Mate’s. Long flavourful finish with more cut than it’s stablemate. Difficult to not compare these two vineyards and look for similarities with WB. Notwithstanding such nonsense, this is a lovely wine, and another buy. 2020 clearly a big success at Kumeu River!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine shows real class, with good tension and balance. With air, it keeps on getting better, and can be enjoyed now, but should improve after cellaring. It's a cut above Mate's vineyard for this vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Absolutely stunning Chardonnay - maybe the best example I have had from New Zealand. Drinking like a great Grand Cru, with a cleanliness, and opulence, allied to a profound sense of depth and a perfect mouthfeel. White blossoms predominate in the mealy and mineral nose, and the layers of flavours certainly mark this wine as very special in the Kumeu River lineup. A great example of the 2020 vintage.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose showing greater depth and breadth today. Lime fruit and especially blossom, really good definition, poise and lift.
Very concentrated attack, intense too, and RICH. No little power here, lots of flavour, energy and drive. Lime fruit and meal, there is an undulating feel through, great texture, some fat, and superb length.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
14% vol More expressive, sweet pockets and some softer stone fruit aromas, (white) strawberry and a lovely fragrant quality. Shows some breadth, lemon rind and citrus oils. Poised.
Notably rich on the palate, excellent concentration and this flows, lots of mineral flavours, rich citrus fruit and cordial hints. Has weight and breadth, great undulating textures it carries the power extremely well. Very long and flavourful with it, fresh, succulent and silky. This is nigh on perfect.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
4/27/2024 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Smells wonderful. And wonderful palate and penetration
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/17/2023 - Bbrown82 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wonderful Chardonnay from one of my favorite new world producers. This is premier cru level Chardonnay. Excellent fruit character ripe apple and pear. A touch of oak brings vanilla and butterscotch notes with a hint of clove on the palate. 93 points.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/7/2023 - DH90 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Screw cap, no cork but no worries. This is excellent chardonnay that allows one to enjoy the purity of fruit and terroir. Light gold color, citrusy initially then a fairly broad palate feel with mineralogy and acidity. Hints of butterscotch but nothing like an overlooked West Coast American chardonnay. Good length and finish. This drinks somewhat like a premier cru Puligny Montrachet at less than half the cost.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/7/2023 - D_RICH Likes this wine:
A rare note on a wine not from my cellar. My friend served this and it was outstanding, akin to a premier cru White Burgundy. Intense fruit/earth/mineral flavors. Worth seeking out.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/8/2023 - Zweder Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful bouquet with a light dose of good oak, a bit restrained on the nose, but there are some white and yellow fruits. Same on the palate, minerals, good citrus, full bodied and tasty and an enormous length.
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/29/2023 - RichardsEric1 wrote: 91 Points
2nd time with this bottle. It's still amazing. This time the oak on palate is little over bearing.
Color. Pale line green with a touch of gold.
Nose. Straw, hay, lime skin zest, unripe green apples, cardamom, clove, baking spices.
Palate. Oak, clove, robust wood character. Some apple fruit.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/14/2023 - novie1234 wrote: 90 Points
Definitely reductive and had layers of oak on top of significant white fruits. Long finish - keeps going. I made a mistake of PnP and really didn’t show what it had until an hour or 90 min later. I would certainly decant on my next bottle.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/7/2023 - tedcholl Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really happy I learned of Kumeu River Chardonnay and definitely want to try some of their other Chards. Really well made and a joy to drink. Lots of luscious tropical fruit notes and nice minerality.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/13/2023 - tedcholl Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really enjoyed this NZ Chardonnay and definitely plan to drink some of the other offerings from this producer. Very well made and balanced with luscious flavors of minerals, cream, tropical notes and pineapple.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/12/2023 - Frijole wrote:
light gold, lots of clarity, silvery hue
Nose: pear, apple, white flowers, sea salt, lime, stone fruit, white pepper, thyme, touch orange rind, limestone, minerals, touch pine
Pal: pear, peach, orange blossom, white pepper, thyme, limestone, touch almond, sea salt, touch honey, touch pine
Feel: medium, smooth, touch steely
Finish: medium
C8
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2023 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points
very good QPR
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/2/2023 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points
another good bottle
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/16/2023 - RichardsEric1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lots of thoughts here on this one. I used to sell this brand. And drinking it young was the only way I ever tasted it. I have not had an older Kumeu River wine. I decanted this wine for 30 minutes before trying a glass. The glasses after 1 hour were way more rewarding. Definitely Divo this wine at 55 degrees and above.
Color. Pale yellow.
Nose. Straw, marigolds, flint, wet stones, grilled lemon. When it was first opened there was a burnt matchstick or creosote smell. Very rich, but not a Pahlmeyer Chardonnay.
Palate. Starts with zippy acidity and tons of lemon. Moves into butter and rich character. Fades to fresh orange juice and oak. Very dynamic wine. Finish lasts 15-20 seconds. It's very sophisticated and balanced. Exceptional wine. Needs a longer finish to get me really excited.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
11/26/2022 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points
Another nice bottle. This one had more matchstick character. Still very young but lots of promise. Double decanted and served, wine was best after 3 hours. Kept gaining weight and complexity. Strong potential
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/12/2022 - Hanibal wrote: 92 Points
Super QPR… very burgundian white flowers, pear and lemon. Mineral and long. Needs a decant at this stage. Worth every penny. Blind i would have called 1er cru chassagne. Upside likely
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2022 - Costes76 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium yellow color. Full nose of talcum, yellow pear, white peach, soft butter and cream. Dry, soft acidity, palate follows through. Medium body, fantastic balance, medium+ finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/30/2022 - PC99 wrote: 92 Points
buttery, lemon, citrus, lemon zest, mint
Balance but a bit powerful.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
7/10/2022 - Palisades57 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very good wine. Nice fresh white fruit on the nose on pop and pour. Slight carbonic fizz due to the youth. We capped it off with argon and came back a couple of nights later. At this point became a little bit sweet and somewhat tropical, still very drinkable with good balance and density. Agree that with luck this wine will improve with age but already excellent and a great QPR.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/8/2022 - Imbibo Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very nice, rich buttery example - to me the closest to a Burgundian style in the Kumeu range. Perhaps slightly early to crack this - the bit left in the bottle was better the next day.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2022 - levicn wrote: 90 Points
小伙伴带来的加餐酒,刚买的就新鲜上阵。醒酒一个小时,淡柠檬色,闻香是白花和淡淡芝麻,入口酸度高,酒液收口有点偏甜,口感和闻香统一,白花和芝麻味,感觉香气稍微简单了些,酒还太新,没什么发挥,总体给人感觉还是很优雅的。听说这酒可以和勃艮第PK一下?我感觉能PK一下做得好的勃艮第大区吧。
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/20/2022 - etyc Likes this wine:
Dinner at Huat Kee. This was decanted for ~3-hrs, and blinded (in a Burg btl). Funnily enough, one of our dinner/wine companions blinded another white-Burg in a Kumeu btl... Anyway, this started cold, not giving away much 'cept for perhaps a bit of reductive matchstick/flint. Asked dinner companions to pour it into a larger Burg glass (Riedel Pinot-type), and wait while we progressed to savour our other wines. With time/air, and another degree (or so) of warmth, this started opening up to reveal nice scents of white flowers & peaches. Lime/citrus on the palate, this presented itself in a linear manner but also gained amplitude/energy as it got more air/time through the dinner. Already a delicious wine with a lengthy finish, this will no doubt improve further with more bottle-age!
Footnote: Most if not all guessed this as a Burg...
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/15/2022 - malbrecht wrote: 89 Points
Concentrated orchard fruit with a buttery mid-palate and some spice box and slight oak. Alcohol is readily apparent. This was a heavy style and came off as slightly unbalanced. The wife did not like it, though perhaps the pairing with pesto veggie orzo was a poor choice. Perhaps this was just too young and age will help it find balance. I will try and remember to revisit my other two bottles when they have a little more age on them. 14% ABV.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
5/7/2022 - mjgkng Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ripe cherry and spice. Great vintage from this premium vineyard and master winemaker Michael Brajkovich.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2022 - winecoffee wrote: 91 Points
Good expression of buttery chardonnay. Nose has butter and pear. Palate starts with lime followed by butter and then orange peel.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2021 - Wesley clemens wrote: 93 Points
Very Puligny like and already drinkable. Will get better the coming years.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/13/2021 - Geoff7777 wrote:
Not dissimilar to the Mate’s of the same vintage, but with more structure, spice and less creamy mouthfeel. More white stone fruit and grapefruit, leaner and carrying the spicey cinnamon oak more obviously that Mate’s. Long flavourful finish with more cut than it’s stablemate. Difficult to not compare these two vineyards and look for similarities with WB. Notwithstanding such nonsense, this is a lovely wine, and another buy. 2020 clearly a big success at Kumeu River!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/27/2021 - vinhslee Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine shows real class, with good tension and balance. With air, it keeps on getting better, and can be enjoyed now, but should improve after cellaring. It's a cut above Mate's vineyard for this vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/6/2021 - Marc wrote: 96 Points
Absolutely stunning Chardonnay - maybe the best example I have had from New Zealand. Drinking like a great Grand Cru, with a cleanliness, and opulence, allied to a profound sense of depth and a perfect mouthfeel. White blossoms predominate in the mealy and mineral nose, and the layers of flavours certainly mark this wine as very special in the Kumeu River lineup. A great example of the 2020 vintage.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/19/2021 - Shrewsram Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nose showing greater depth and breadth today. Lime fruit and especially blossom, really good definition, poise and lift.
Very concentrated attack, intense too, and RICH. No little power here, lots of flavour, energy and drive. Lime fruit and meal, there is an undulating feel through, great texture, some fat, and superb length.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/15/2021 - Shrewsram Likes this wine: 95 Points
14% vol
More expressive, sweet pockets and some softer stone fruit aromas, (white) strawberry and a lovely fragrant quality. Shows some breadth, lemon rind and citrus oils. Poised.
Notably rich on the palate, excellent concentration and this flows, lots of mineral flavours, rich citrus fruit and cordial hints. Has weight and breadth, great undulating textures it carries the power extremely well. Very long and flavourful with it, fresh, succulent and silky. This is nigh on perfect.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment