KUMEU RIVER HUNTING HILL CHARDONNAY 2024

The Brajkovich family have carved out a reputation second to none for Chardonnay and every new release adds to that reputation.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
"If you can taste history, duty, and family pride in a glass, it’s there in the Kumeu River Chardonnays… now producing some of New Zealand’s greatest Chardonnays, not to mention the world’s."

Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"Hunting Hill is a vineyard that was first planted in 1982 and became a significant part of the original Kumeu River Chardonnay blend. Occupying the slope overlooking Maté’s Vineyard, it has always contributed lovely ripe and rich fruit to the Estate Chardonnay. Hunting Hill was replanted in 2000 and is now even better than before, giving beautifully ripe fruit with a distinctive, mealy minerality."

Michael Brajkovich MW, Winemaker notes (2024 Vintage)
"The 2024 vintage is a fantastic one for Hunting Hill. Even though the yields were low, the fruit was pristine and beautifully ripe. The aroma of 2024 Hunting Hill is quite reticent in its youth, but you can get glimpses of the typical lemon/lime blossom fragrance and a touch of flintiness. The palate is concentrated and long showing the density of the low yield. This is a fabulous Hunting Hill that will show its best with 7-8 years of bottle age."

93-95/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, June 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"The 2024 Hunting Hill Chardonnay is the ripest in alcohol of the 2024 releases, and it feels powerfully layered and driven on the palate. This is rich, almost thunderous in its positioning, with salted citrus and exotic spices (star anise/fennel/scraped vanilla pod). The oak here is polished and elegant, smoothing down any stray, loose hairs. The barrels have been air dried for three years and lightly toasted. The finish is tight and focused. This was tasted as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling."

David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, July 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"The perfume is intensely floral, with a lime blossom character, giving a distinctive citrus fragrance as well as lime, green apple, nectarine and tarragon on the nose. Complex, concentrated and intense, but with a softer honey, cashew butter note mid-palate. There is energy and power – a crystalline acidity gives line and superb length through layers of flavours and texture. A bite of pithy dryness elongates the finish."