2021 Kumeu River Village Chardonnay

2021 Kumeu River Village Chardonnay

2021 Kumeu River Village Chardonnay; Auckland, New Zealand

Winemaker Notes; Produced from hand harvested grapes grown in Kumeu and Hawkes Bay this wine was fermented 81% in old French oak barriques, and 19% in stainless steel tanks. The barrel fermentation provides some richness but very little oak influence. Combined with the tank fermentation, this allows the vibrant fruit to show through beautifully with lively lime and lemon aromas and a flinty, mineral edginess with hints of fig and white peach.The weighty mid-palate also shows peachy ripeness along with crisp acid minerality that gives the wine a refreshing cleansing quality. This wine is delightful as an aperitif, and even better to drink with fish and shellfish.

Chardonnay is the world’s most famous white-wine grape and also one of the most widely planted. Although the most highly regarded expressions of the variety are those from Burgundy and California, many high-quality examples are made in Italy, Australia, New Zealand and parts of South America. Describing the flavors of Chardonnay is not easy. While many Chardonnay wines have high aromatic complexity, this is usually due to winemaking techniques (particularly the use of oak) rather than the variety’s intrinsic qualities.

Kumeu is a winegrowing sub-region of Auckland on New Zealand‘s North Island. The small towns of Kumeu, Huapai and Waimauku, 16 miles (26km) northwest of the Auckland central business district, are home to a handful of boutique wineries, popular cellar door operations offering wine tasting to tourists and the urban masses, and the head offices of some of New Zealand’s biggest wine brands – not all of whom have vineyards in the vicinity. Taut, elegant white wines made here from Chardonnay are widely regarded to be some of New Zealand’s best.

Kumeu River Winery is a New Zealand wine estate located just outside the town of Kumeu, 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) northwest of central Auckland. It is particularly known for its Burgundian-style Chardonnay, of which it produces several expressions.