2014 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
The 2014 Estate Chardonnay hails from a warm, riper vintage, and the wine today, 11 years from harvest, is laced together with saline threads of acidity. The phenolic structure inherent on the palate cups the fruit in its hands, allowing the fruit to show preserved citrus, salty roast chicken skin, red apple, yellow peach and linen/pressed cloth. The wine has started to show beeswax and biscuit. This is tremendous. And here I was thinking this cuvée was best consumed within a decade of harvest. This vintage shows it has five to 10 good years left, and possibly then some.
Critic scores
Average Score
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Quite creamy and sweet on the nose. Tastes fully mature with the ripe fruit just starting to separate itself from the acidity and a slight mealiness creeping in. The finish is not as refreshing as on earlier vintages. (JR)
Oh-so fresh in terms of the bright, shining lemon color, the 2014 Chardonnay Estate is open and rich on the nose. This wine is welcoming and full on the palate. Smooth and creamy in texture, with ripe nectarine and lemon cream on the nose giving way to almond-butter-like development, it is drinking beautifully now, offering youth and tertiary complexity. Moderate length. Fabulous drinkability.
The 2014 Estate Chardonnay shows a little more new oak than the other vintages, touches of vanilla pod and crème fraîche infusing the citrus fruit and later peach skin and clementine. The palate is well balanced and concentrated. This Estate Chardonnay displays an appealing roundness and more viscosity toward the finish, which reveals discreet walnut and fumé notes. There is a sense of completeness to the 2014 and I can see it aging with real style. Superb. Tasted at the Kumeu River Chardonnay vertical in London.