2021 Kumeu River Chardonnay Hunting Hill

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 92.4 points

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  5/17/2024 - Geoff7777 wrote:

  Pale lemon with green tinges, this is richer than I anticipated. Ripe yellow peach fruit, smoke, cinnamon oak, some spice and a ripe citrus brûlée finish. I expect it will tighten up with some air, and it needs to for balance. Let’s see what happens. Day 2 and the citrus is stronger but the wine remains smoke/peach/cinnamon and while simpler than I expected, it’s nice 17.5.

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  5/12/2024 - Winevestor Likes this wine: 94 Points

  This was so good. It is clearly NZ bringing some of the freshness and SB tint. But still full and creamy. A very good chard, good enough to be compared with any of the world's chards. But very enjoyable and something to look forward to.

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  3/1/2024 - stet Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Color: pale to medium gold
  Nose: starts very reductive with a dominant struck match and popcorn note. When it opens, there is a lot of lemon trending towards lemon blossom, as well as some mandarin. Acacia, a hint of toffee but not in an obtrusive way. The struck match receeds but never disappears, serving as a foil to the abundant citrus garden fragrance
  Palate: high acidity, medium-full body. A clear bitter note. It has a lush mouth feel, oily. Balanced or close to it, perhaps a little acidity overshot
  Finish: medium-long
  
  This opens like movie theater carpet but give it an hour in full air outside of the fridge and you get a remarkable citrus mix. Too young, this will be better in 3 years I estimate, with some of the acidity turned into a bit more chunk. It was very nice at room temp but again - needs air. Paired with a simple baked branzino, it sort of murdered it so I waited until after dinner to finish the glass: this is a big wine

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  2/9/2024 - drwine2001 wrote:

  New Zealand and French Chardonnays (Auckland, New Zealand): Light yellow. Heavy reduction. Glycerine, oaky base, strong acidity. Toasty oak dulls any semblance of fruit. Completely overdone and heavy handed.

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  2/19/2023 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Reductive upon opening so gave it some air in decanter. This wine is of the similar style as the 2020. A bit more closed given it is younger but I think it will get much better as it ages. Very Burgundian in style, unlike the 2020 this one tastes more like a Puligny than a Meursault. I know we should not be comparing NZ and Burgundy wines however the resemblance in style is uncanny. Can dominate a majority of Puligny/Meursault villages you can throw at it. I think it has the stuffing to be of 1er cru level in a few years. A great QPR.

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View all 8 Community Tasting Notes

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