Kumeu River Villages Chardonnay 2009 – $$

I feel in a Chardonnay, Queen of Wines mood.

Kumeu River has been said to be one of NZ’s premiere cru chardonnay producers. I don’t know enough about that to comment, but I have a few of their premium wines in my cellar, and I am looking forward to knocking their tops off when the time comes. In the meantime I have been occasionally buying the Village and Estate labels when they are on special, to keep my hand in. Winemaker is Michael Brajkovich, the grapes are hand harvested, and the wine undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation.

Medium chardonnay gold, this wine has an open fruit aroma, showing a little (good) age. I taste minerally, clean peachiness flavour with a hint of nuttiness. Fine texture. A quality drop from a good vintage.

(Note – when I write ‘cellar’, I mean ‘under the back of the house’). No fancy tasting room at my place…