Kumeu River 'Mates Vineyard' Chardonnay 2021

"Struck match, ginger, pink grapefruit, green pear, hazelnut, cut fennel and white flowers. It’s bony, tight and very flinty and ‘mineral’, with ripe lemon and zest, a subtle chicken stock/umami flavour, white mushroom and spice, firm and dry, a little dirt under the nails, and gap-toothed charm, a wild and unfettered beauty, and all the length and energy you could ask for. Superb. So wild, but so at ease with itself. Or something like that."  Rated : 97 Points, Tasted : Jun22, Alcohol : 13.5%, Price : $110.  Gary Walsh.  The Wine Front.

"Kumeu River somehow manages to make some of not just New Zealand’s but the world’s finest Chardonnay from vineyards in the Auckland suburbs." Jancis Robinson MW

"Amongst the very best Chardonnay producers in the world is Kumeu River in New Zealand. Their Chardonnays were put to the test a few years ago when several were assessed blind, intermixed with some very serious Puligny-Montrachets and Meursaults. Kumeu River triumphed to such an extent that it became almost embarrassing. And to think that you can buy an entire case of Kumeu River for the cost of a single bottle of some Grand Crus.” Neal Martin - Vinous