2022 Rays Road Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Buttery lemon-pastry scent. Slightly smoky. A very delicate style. The fruit has a dry character – apple, citrus, with a very pretty note of dried herbs in the very long finish. (FG)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Lemony and crisp with a stone and seashell undertone to the pretty fruit. Medium body, firm phenolics that tighten the wine on the palate. Racy and intense on the finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
Newer clones 548 and 15 plus limestone character shape this wine which sees hardly any new oak. They will be planting virus-free Mendoza and will eventually eliminate the Sauvignon Blanc that was originally planted in this vineyard for Trinity Hill. Very pure and lively, lifted nose. Very unmistakably NZ with just a touch more simple acidity than the other Kumeu Chardonnays. A little chew on the end. Finish is not that persistent. (JR)
The 2022 Rays Road Chardonnay is fine and spicy, with a tense line of acidity and phenolics—they feel linear and interwoven—that stream through the fruit. This is a very pretty, pithy Chardonnay with ground white pepper, white flesh peach, crushed shells, layers of juniper berry and star anise/cut fennel inflections. I like the staying power of the fruit in the mouth. It is persistent and long. This is really nicely done, and I'm looking forward to seeing this wine (and this vineyard) more over its journey. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.