A very bold delivery of ripe-peach aromas with some gently buttery undertones. The palate has a smooth, creamy textural build to a fresh, crisp and dry peach finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

Light and crisp, with plenty of power to the lemon zest, thyme and white grapefruit flavors, set on a sleek and juicy frame. Drink now. 6,000 cases made, 500 cases imported

Pale greenish straw. Some super-delicate oak on the nose (or do I just mean a hint of savoury Côte d'Or perfume?!). So pure on the nose yet with great grip on the palate and already accessible in a grapefruit sort of way. With this intensity of fruit, it will clearly evolve into something even more convincing but you could certainly enjoy it now. It has both weight and a crystalline quality

Quite broad on the nose and more obviously fruity (rather than savoury) than the Estate Chardonnay 2019, though it will obviously take on more subtlety with time. Pretty impressive finish to the palate, on which mandarin and passion-fruit flavours reverberate.

High-toned, tight and very sophisticated. The sort of wine that demands comparison with fine white burgundy. Real integrity and depth. Dry (not sweet) and with light grip on the palate. You could drink this now but you shouldn't; it will so clearly improve, deepen in flavour while retaining its admirable structure and vitality. Much more 'mineral' than the Coddington. Real tingle here. I'm sure Michael Brajkovich won't thank me for the comparison but it does rather remind me in structure of one of Rafael Palacios's finest Valdeorras single-vineyard bottlings. (And those are the wines that rem

Fuller than the Hunting Hill but with much more framework and tension than the Coddington. Already so pleasing! With that extra breadth plus undertow. Fantastic length. Creamy texture. One for hedonists – by which I don't mean it's at all sweet. But it's richer than the Hunting Hill yet still has that New Zealand purity of fruit. Who could resist this? New Zealand Chardonnay at its finest. Perhaps slightly less burgundian than the Hunting Hill.

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.

Quite a 'stony' nose and already lots of fun. Seems more than a year more evolved than the 2019. At a very nice stage now. Fresh and minerally and super-crisp but quite satisfying and not meagre at all. Super-clean. Just right for current drinking. If only all white burgundy offered this accessibility (I'm talking both price and taste). Really quite long. A neat, complete wine. At the moment I prefer this to the more intense but unformed Rays Road 2019.

Opens with a pretty floral note, with apple blossom and orange zest details that are effusive, crisp and refreshing against a firm, juicy frame. Herbal and spice accents linger in the background. Drink now. 112 cases imported.

Located significantly further north than most of New Zealand's vineyards, Kumeu River's maritime influence is what helps this area remain cool. This single vineyard wine is shining in appealing salty, nutty characters that blend with pineapple, mango rind and lemon. The palate is still somewhat in its shell, however, making the oak and acidity stand out more than normal. Give this time to unravel and the fruit and honeyed characters should start to emerge. Drink 2019–2025.

The 2016 Coddington Chardonnay has an elegant white flower and lemon peel bouquet, perhaps slightly less mineral-driven than the 2017. The palate is taut and linear, displaying a little more bitter lemon than the 2017 but showing outstanding tension and mineralité toward the long finish. This has so much verve and class. Tasted at the Kumeu River Chardonnay vertical in London.

The ripe, creamy-textured 2016 Coddington Chardonnay also boasts a crisp, tight line of pineapple and citrus that pulls the wine together and gives it depth and shape on the palate. Toasted grain and white peach notes provide much of the flesh, but there's also a silky, custardy feel on the palate, extending through the lengthy finish.

Michael Brajkovich, MW, blends this wine from six estate vineyards in Kumeu, holding to a consistently savory, structured style of chardonnay. Its flavors of nectarine, white peach and pithy lemon gained a broad and creamy texture from oak aging, while the fruit is saturated enough to remain the focus. A clean New World chardonnay with Old World elegance.

All barrel-fermented, with 20% new oak, the 2017 Estate Chardonnay is a stellar effort. Smoky, nutty hints of roasted cashews appear on the nose, adding depth and richness to notes of peach and pineapple. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's richly textured—something of a cross between creamy and sherbet-like—coming to a long, luscious finish. I don't expect it will be the longest-lived wine, but it sure is delicious.

The 2016 Estate Chardonnay has a touch more fatness on the nose than the 2017, though not quite the same degree of delineation. There is a subtle waxy/resin like note here, along with a hint of orange blossom and orange pith. The palate is well balanced with the same twist of sour lemon that marks the follow-up vintage, offering good weight in the mouth and a lovely peppery flourish on the persistent finish. Very fine, although I suspect the 2017 will have the edge in the long term. Tasted at the Kumeu River Chardonnay vertical in London.

Still a Kiwi classic, Kumeu River's 2016 Estate Chardonnay features toasted grain aromas, ripe peach and nectarine flavors and a long, citrus-inflected finish. It's medium-bodied, with a plump, silky texture and up to a decade of aging potential.

The 2017 Hunting Hill Chardonnay has a very well-defined bouquet of lemon curd, granite, yellow flowers and just a hint of vanilla pod that derives from the François Frères barrels. The precise, detailed palate is well defined with a crisp line of acidity and a harmonious, succinct finish of lemon curd, canned apricot and citrus fruit, all infused with light ginger and minerals. This is a complex, intellectual Chardonnay with a long, bright future ahead. A fabulous Hunting Hill. Tasted at the Kumeu River Chardonnay vertical in London.

Another fine effort from this terrific vineyard, the 2017 Hunting Hill Chardonnay delivers an array of mellow peach and melon notes, accented by delicate hints of roasted cashews. Medium to full-bodied, it's round, rich, creamy and long, almost decadent in style. Drink it over the next 6-7 years for its plush, languid fruit.

The 2016 Hunting Hill Chardonnay feels a little muted on the nose at the moment, coming across very stony with scents of a cool alpine stream. The lightly spiced palate is well balanced with a rounded entry, good depth and perhaps a little botrytis that just takes the edge off of the finish. Not bad, although I prefer the 2015 by comparison. Tasted at the Kumeu River Chardonnay vertical in London.

The 2017 Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay has a really beautiful, quixotic bouquet of apricot blossom, white peach, minerals and dandelion scents that waft temptingly from the glass. The harmonious, lightly spiced palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity and a succinct, perfectly pitched finish that offers just the right amount of sapidity. Superb. Tasted at the Kumeu River Chardonnay vertical in London.