Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | New Zealand > Hawkes Bay |
Colour | White |
Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Kumeu River
The second vintage of Rays Road continues to mark its difference from the Auckland sites. This Hawkes Bay Chardonnay is cool and lightly smoky, with finely etched citrus and white pear getting a slightly saline edge. The palate is cool and mineral, with sappy fruit and a little creaminess in the background. Cool and precise, this is elegant and fine like a Chablis, with crisp acid driving through to a long finish. It is the most approachable wine in the line-up this year.
From the Brajkoviches' new Hawke's Bay site, acquired as their estate in the Auckland suburbs is increasingly threatened by urban development. On a limestone hillside at 180 m facing north. Dry-farmed, hand-harvested, whole-bunch pressed and fermented with indigenous yeast in older French oak barrels. The usual 100% malo and 11-month oak maturation.
Smells just a little rawer than the Kumeu single-vineyard Chardonnays I have just been tasting. Perhaps it was mean of me to taste it after them. I will go back and compare to the Estate 2019 bottling (suaver but probably less long-lived). Good grip and undertow. This site has a lot to say for itself but is just summoning up the courage. I love the eloquent, reverberant finish. The lime-fruited nose and front palate need a bit of time, I think, to shed their apparently simplicity. 13.5%
Drink 2021 – 2026
From a recently acquired, limestone-based vineyard in Central Hawke's Bay, the 2019 Rays Road Chardonnay is a new addition to the lineup. A bit more floral and citrusy than the Kumeu-region bottlings, this shows plenty of pineapple and even lemon-lime aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, it's crisp and zesty, with a long, citrusy finish. 2021-2030.