Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay

They’re one of NZ’s most iconic wine producers on the world stage. The family are pioneers in the NZ wine industry. They produce some of the very best Chardonnay you’ll find anywhere in Aotearoa. They’re the Brajkovich family and you’ll find them in the north Auckland suburb of Kumeu. Next to a river.

The Hunting Hill vineyard was planted back in 1982 and since the late 90s has played an important part in providing seriously good fruit for Kumeu River’s world famous Estate Chardonnay. Replanted in the year 2000 and in the words of winemaker and Master of Wine Michael Brajkovich it’s “now even better than before, giving beautifully ripe fruit with a distinctive mealy minerality.”

Scoring 96/100 with international critic James Suckling who said ” Medium- to full-bodied with a tight and dense center palate and a crunchy and flavorful finish. Energetic acidity. So fresh yet dense at the same time.” 

This is what winemaker and Michael had to say about this release – “The 2023 vintage in Hunting Hill was both lighter in ripeness and also lower in yield. The reduction in yield has made for quite a textural Hunting Hill. Even though 2023 was a lighter year, Hunting Hill is still very recognisable for its fragrance of lemom/lime blossom. The palate is silky and textural with the distinctive lemon drop on the finish. This is a beautifully balanced Hunting Hill that even though approachable now will definitely benefit from bottle age of 5 – 8 years.”