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Maté's Vineyard Chardonnay, Kumeu River 2016

RegionNew Zealand
Subregion New Zealand > Auckland
ColourWhite
TypeStill
Grape VarietyChardonnay

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Label

Tasting Notes

A very composed and complete wine that has plenty of vibrant lively fruit freshness on the nose and a smoothly rendered array of ripe peach and nectarine fruits in the mouth. Some warm oak spice builds nicely into the finish. In good form. Drink now. Screw cap.

96
Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com, November 2017

The 2016 Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay is marked by smoky new oak, but there's also pineapple and grapefruit notes that create a crisp, acidic spine. Draped off of that are hints of white peaches, roasted hazelnuts and tangerine. There's an almost briny zestiness to the lingering finish that sets it apart from the winery's other single-vineyard bottlings. 2018 - 2028

94
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (235), February 2018

Behind the ripe fruit the apricot there is steely lemon freshness layers of flavour lots of complexity. Creamy in the middle the fleshy mango backed by hints of vanilla the back palate has a savoury zesty freshness some underlying flint the finish is long and lean. 2019-30

96
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, September 2018

Mate's Vineyard is on a real roll at the moment. The nose to this wine brings the ripeness of Coddington and the mineral steeliness of Hunting Hill to one wine. Ripe, juicy lemons and white stone fruit with a hint of stuck-match and underlying mineral coolness on the nose. The palate is riper, more expressive, with hints of guava and sweet, exotic spices. Creamy vanilla brings an almost buttercream richness and texture, turning lemon blossom to lemon curd and adding layer upon layer of visceral texture. As the finish approaches, this is cut through and refreshed by very bright, lively, zesty acidity, taming the exotic richness and bringing savoury balance to the wine. Whilst still very young, you can almost drink this now, but it has a great future ahead.

96
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, February 2018

Quite a concentrated chardonnay with lime, citrus, hazelnut, bran biscuit and a suggestion of tropical fruits, mango and pineapple. A weighty wine with impressive length and complexity. Good now but will obviously respond well to bottle-age.

96
Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, August 2017

Intricate nose of dried grass, sweet lemon peel, green fig and dusty minerality. Real allure and intrigue, the palate is bright and fresh, linear and vibrant with a real generosity of flavour on the finish.

93+
Greg Sherwood MW, gregsherwoodmw.com, October 2018

Hugely intense and liqueur-like. A bit like a Kumeu River Chardonnay compote. Really dense and jewelly and long. Almost flashy!
Drink 2019-2035

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, October 2018

This great chardonnay is just beginning to give its best. Cool and very fresh with lemon-blossom and lemon-curd character, married to considerable richness and animating acidity, this proves that New Zealand can play in the global chardonnay first league. Super fresh finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

95
Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com, 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.