Kumeu River - Chardonnay Mate's Vineyard 2023 (750ml)
Price: $76.00
| Producer | Kumeu River |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Auckland |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Sku | 9822 |
| Size | 750ml |
James Suckling: 97 Points
Very steely and floral with brightness and impressive aromas of honeysuckle lemongrass and just a touch of cream. Medium- to full-bodied with layered and creamy phenolics that give a lovely almost velvety texture to the wine and then the end is so crisp and minerally. Driven at the end. Needs time to come together. This will be so complex in three to four years. Best after 2027.
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
The 2023 Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay is complete; all flavor points and spice characteristics are present and accounted for albeit restrained and even a little muted. The low-lying Maté's vineyard received plenty of rain and runoff in the 2023 rainfall but the wine still feels fresh vibrant and focused. There are notes of shaved fennel white pepper almond meal and tatami mat/straw?a decidedly white spectrum of flavor and spice. Stylistically I usually see this wine being quite punchy powerful and sometimes tropical. In this wet year the wine is retrained and decidedly composed?while some may view this as being "not the Maté's style" I think it is a very good iteration of this vineyard. Time will tell but I like it a lot. 12.5% alcohol sealed under screw cap. The 2023 collection is the product of a challenging year. 2023 saw a deluge of rain across the North Island that in the context of Auckland brought the annual average up 1.5 times the norm from 1113 millimeters per year (1963 - 2022 at the Auckland Airport weather station) to 1723 millimeters in 2023. When we consider the July 2022 to June 2023 numbers (the growing season fully encapsulated) the rainfall accumulation is even higher at 1964 millimeters*. Average rainfall per day in Auckland was 5.9 millimeters up from 3.3 millimeters in 2022 and 2.2 millimeters in 2021. To bring context to this measurement NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll said ?Those living in Northland Auckland the Coromandel Peninsula Gisborne and Hawke?s Bay have dealt with a constant barrage of sub-tropical lows atmospheric rivers and ex-tropical cyclones which caused copious amounts of rainfall. It has been quite relentless.?** Watching from afar the north was subject to catastrophic flooding in parts and landslips the evidence of which was still visible when I visited in November 2023. So to see a collection of wines looking as good as these do it is important to consider the full story not just the wines in the glass. * MetService.com ** NIWA - National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Published: Dec 19 2024
Vinous: 93 Points
Despite the challenging vintage the 2023 Chardonnay Maté's Vineyard shows its attractively chewy textural personality richer concentration and length. The wine is certainly ripe despite only hitting 12.5% alcohol with a buzzy acidity enveloped by a wine that is surprisingly succulent and satisfying despite the season. Perhaps I ought not to be surprised. It is Kumeu River's Maté's after all. - By Rebecca Gibb MW on September 2024
