Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay 2019

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, September 2020 (17.5)

On a slope overlooking Maté’s Vineyard. Replanted in 2000. Made in exactly the same way as Coddington but always a bit tenser.

High-toned, tight and very sophisticated. The sort of wine that demands comparison with fine white burgundy. Real integrity and depth. Dry (not sweet) and with light grip on the palate. You could drink this now but you shouldn’t; it will so clearly improve, deepen in flavour while retaining its admirable structure and vitality. Much more ‘mineral’ than the Coddington. Real tingle here. I’m sure Michael Brajkovich won’t thank me for the comparison but it does rather remind me in structure of one of Rafael Palacios’s finest Valdeorras single-vineyard bottlings. (And those are the wines that remind me of a great Puligny …). Drink 2020 – 2034

Rebecca Gibb MW, vinous.com, November 2020 (95 pts)

This wine manages to walk the tightrope of richness and finesse, and it does it with swagger. It’s no surprise that this powerful, highly concentrated Chardonnay was fermented in new oak barrels after a hiatus in 2018 – it certainly has the stuffing to take it. Hunting Hill is Kumeu’s most reductive Chardonnay but its influence remains subtle, bringing the merest flint note and added tension to the nectarine and lemon peel flavors. Poised and well judged.

Cameron Douglas MS (98 pts)

Fantastic bouquet – captivating with great depth and complexity, pure and definitive. Flavours of peach and ripe, fleshy apricot, meyer lemon zest and cashew, oak spices and rose-skinned apple. This package then repeats again and again. Contrasting acidity to the pure fruit core, a light saline note adding complexity and charm. Persistent flavours, lengthy finish, complex and urgent. A fantastic wine, ready for the cellar. Best drinking from late 2021 through 2026+.