“A tense, mineral wine, striated with citrus zest and toast. The wine is tight, nervy in character, holding back its future richness under a firm structure.”

“This elegant and cool effort sports a completely different nose with more roasted nut and citrus influence to the ripe orchard fruit aromas that introduce mineral-inflected and vibrant middle weight flavors that also possess fine balance and plenty of underlying tension. Excellent.”

“A clearly very ripe yet notably restrained nose offers up notes of white and yellow fruit, mango, spice, minerals and soft oak hints only under the duress of aggressive swirling. The massive, rich and exceptionally full-bodied flavors display no such moderation however as they unleash a seemingly full-frontal attack on the palate as the intensity is borderline painful and the finish doesn’t seem to stop as I could still taste this an hour later. Speaking of ‘wow’ wines, this qualifies as well.”

“A wonderful balance between crisp, steely notes of citrus, pear and green apple and complex flavor nuances on a smooth texture, with floral, lime peel and tobacco details. The finish just goes on and on.”

“Toasty chestnut flavors emphasize the rich, round notes of lemon, nectarine and ripe pear, with a crushed stone minerality that shines through, especially on the finish. Extremely smooth and graceful.”

“A zingy wine, with plenty of green apple, Bartlett pear and lemon-lime flavors that are bright and refreshing, with a crisp acidity surging through. Shows accents of fresh thyme and mineral on the finish.”

“Full-bodied and lush, the Hickory Hill is the most ebullient of the 2008s from Kumeu River, laced with oak and lees embellishments of toasted almonds, vanilla and hickory smoke yet balanced by rounded, melony fruit. It finishes long and citrusy, suggesting it may evolve positively for at least a few years.”

“A blend of several vineyard parcels, Kumeu River’s Estate bottling is the best value in the winery’s impressive lineup of 2008 Chardonnays. It shows all of the toasty, leesy notes of the single-vineyard wines, medium body and a bright core of zesty pineapple fruit.”

“Perhaps the biggest of Kumeu River’s 2008 Chardonnays, the Coddington offers waves of tropical fruit—pineapple and carambola—allied to mouthfilling richness and balanced by citrusy acids and hints of roasted nuts.”