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Hunting Hill Chardonnay, Kumeu River 2016

RegionNew Zealand
Subregion New Zealand > Auckland
ColourWhite
TypeStill
Grape VarietyChardonnay

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Kumeu River

Label

Tasting Notes

The voluminous yet weightless 2016 Hunting Hill Chardonnay continues this bottling's successful run of vintages. Hints of roasted cashew accent tropical fruit, but thanks to a zesty line of citrusy acids, the wine powers forward without ever seeming overly broad or heavy. It simply coats the mouth with a stunning array of complex flavors, lingering gently on the finish. 2018 - 2027

95
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (235), February 2018

The nose is focussed smoky fresh the palate has crushed sea shells taut in the middle the acidity encircles the mid sweetness the peach and apricot. Mineral and slate freshness at the back intensity of flavour and although quite lean there is richer fruit on the finish.

95
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, October 2018

Pale lemon in the glass, with supreme focus of lime, lemon, struck match and light toast on the nose. The palate is pristine, primary, taut and yet powerful. This is wrapped up and tight at the moment, but the bright acidity, mineral tension, crystalline lemon fruits and light smokiness all show that this wine has great potential. The finish is over a minute long, and the fruit expands with time on the tongue and in the glass. Weightless density and intensity. Best after 2020.

94+
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, February 2018

Tight, linear wine in a slightly edgy, fine-boned style with citrus, oyster shell, mineral and spicy oak flavours. A little closed and hard to read now but with obvious cellaring potential.

95
Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, August 2017

Light struck-match nose and then quite opulent fruit on the palate. Tense and vibrant. Very long. The most appealing 2016 so far.
Drink 2018-2031

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, October 2018

The flinty nose gives way to ripe peach and nectarine fruits with a svelte, linear and focused palate. Terrific clarity of bright yellow peach fruit flavor and handy acid cut, too. Drink now. Screw cap.

93
Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com, November 2017

Ample smoke on the nose. Yet, behind that there's plenty of sliced pears and some white peaches. Very lively and energetic, the long, crisp finish seriously minerally. Delicious now, but also has considerable aging potential. Screw cap.

94
Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com, October 2018
Read more tasting notes...

At a recent tasting of Kumeu river wines held in London by Farr Vintners, their chairman Stephen Browett described the Hunting Hill Chardonnay as the Puligny Montrachet of New Zealand. It is not difficult to see why, it has a lovely lemon and lime blossom fragrance to the wine with an ethereal, nervy energy. One to savour every drop.

Will Lyons, The Times, October 2018
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.