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Description
Kumeu River’s Estate Chardonnay has long been the calling card for New Zealand’s most celebrated Chardonnay producer - and in 2024, it’s the best it’s been in a decade. Drawn from six carefully selected vineyards around Kumeu, it’s the purest snapshot of what this region and this family can do.
The season delivered tiny yields but perfect ripening weather, giving fruit with both richness and laser-cut precision. Wild-fermented in French oak and left to rest for 11 months, it’s fragrant with white peach, grilled citrus and a gentle toastiness. The palate is layered and peachy yet charged with refreshing acidity, carrying the wine long and clean.
It’s the kind of wine that’s equally at home poured now with a roast chicken as it is resting in the cellar for five or six years. Pound for pound, this remains one of the greatest Chardonnay buys in the Southern Hemisphere.
90-92 points
"The 2024 Estate Chardonnay is floral and tightly coiled, with a scratched lime backbone. It's not as complex as the Ray's Road tasted alongside, yet it's utterly composed and restrained. It is mineral and very good indeed. This was tasted as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling."
- Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)
Customer Reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 2 Total 4 star reviews: 1 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
3 reviews
- SRStephen R.Verified BuyerWine Knowledge Level Enthusiast2 years agoWine Knowledge Level EnthusiastReviewing2021 Kumeu River Estate ChardonnayRated 5 out of 5 starsA stunner!
This may be my favourite new world Chardonnay. This is gorgeous, Kumeu Estate knocks this entry level num,ber into the stratosphere. Crisp, refined, steely and with beautiful fruit and acidity. It tastes like high-end Burgundy with that extra touch of new world expertise. Fantastic!
- MSMichael S.Verified BuyerWine Knowledge Level Enthusiast3 years agoWine Knowledge Level EnthusiastReviewing2021 Kumeu River Estate ChardonnayRated 4 out of 5 starsWorth more stars
New world chardonnay can be many things. Occasionally overwhelmed with passionfruit, or oak. Sometimes saturated by malolactic fermentation or the richness of batonnage. The Kumeu is beautifully balanced in all of those ways providing a rich and creamy chardonnay which is nuanced and where the oak supports the fruit intuitively. I rarely invoke the old world to congratulate our new world wines but Burgundy would be hard pressed to produce better.
- MMattWine Knowledge Level Enthusiast4 years agoWine Knowledge Level EnthusiastReviewing2021 Kumeu River Estate ChardonnayRated 5 out of 5 starsExcellent choice
Was drinking earlier this year in the South Island. As you say, very Burgundy style. Kick arse wine!
| Price Bracket | $51 to $100 |
| Type | White |
| Body | Full Bodied |
| Variety | Chardonnay |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Kumeu |
| Reviewed By |
The Wine Advocate |
| Critic Score |
92 |
| Alcohol | 12.5% |
| Size | 750ml |
| Vintage | 2024 |
| Closure | Screw Cap |
Kumeu River
The Vineyards of Kumeu River Kumeu River
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Common Questions
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