Skip to content
Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
2023 Rays Road Chardonnay, Kumeu River Wine Republic

2024 Rays Road Chardonnay, Kumeu River

Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Limestone & Silk

Generous yet finely chiselled, the 2024 Rays Road brings a little extra richness to Kumeu River’s distinctive limestone-grown Chardonnay. Ripe peach, crisp pear and yellow citrus unfold around a flinty mineral core, with delicate hints of dried herbs, ginger and toasted nuts adding savoury intrigue. The oak sits quietly behind the fruit, lending a gentle biscuit warmth without overwhelming the vineyard’s bright, stony character.

The palate combines creamy texture with an invigorating freshness, its concentrated orchard fruit carried by brisk, apple-like acidity. There is lovely breadth through the middle, followed by a long, lightly saline finish that draws everything back into focus. This is Chardonnay with enough generosity to enjoy over dinner now, yet the structure and depth to reward patient cellaring. For lovers of white Burgundy, it offers a compelling meeting of texture, restraint and mineral detail.

For when: Dinner deserves a white with enough character to keep the conversation going.

Pairs with: Pan-roasted halibut with beurre blanc, roast chicken with tarragon, seared scallops with cauliflower purée, crab linguine, wild mushroom risotto, or mature Comté.

Rays Road reveals a different side of Kumeu River. Situated in Hawke’s Bay, away from the family’s home vineyards near Auckland, this north-facing limestone hillside rises to around 180 metres. Dry farming and an exposed position contribute to a wine whose freshness and mineral character give it a distinctive place within the collection.

The 2024 vintage was excellent at Rays Road, although yields were approximately half their usual level. The resulting wine has greater concentration and a more pronounced peach character than previous releases, while retaining its characteristic flinty freshness. It marks a particularly promising stage in the vineyard’s development, with the depth to benefit from time in bottle.

Whats in the bottle
100% Chardonnay

Notable Awards
95 points, Wine Enthusiast

£28.95 - £28.95
£28.95
£28.95 - £28.95
£28.95
Make it a giftOptional gift bags and wooden boxes Choose +

Choose your packaging, then carry on shopping.

Choose your packaging
Availability:
In stock

Kumeu River’s story began in 1944, when the Brajkovich family established their vineyard and winery near Auckland after emigrating from Croatia. Across successive generations, the family transformed a small wine-growing business into one of New Zealand’s most respected Chardonnay producers, building a reputation for wines that combine richness with precision and longevity.

The estate’s identity is rooted in the cool conditions of Kumeu, where its celebrated single-vineyard wines reveal subtle differences between individual sites. Maté’s Vineyard, Hunting Hill and Coddington each have their own personality. Rays Road extends that exploration into Hawke’s Bay, introducing an elevated limestone site and a distinctly different setting for the family’s approach to Chardonnay.

Winemaking is led by Michael Brajkovich MW, New Zealand’s first Master of Wine. Hand harvesting, whole-bunch pressing and indigenous yeast fermentation underpin a style influenced by Burgundy, with careful barrel maturation supporting the fruit. The emphasis is on balance and vineyard character, producing wines whose detail becomes increasingly rewarding with age.

Made from 100% Chardonnay grown at the Rays Road vineyard in Hawke’s Bay. The dry-farmed vines occupy a north-facing limestone hillside approximately 180 metres above sea level. Grapes were harvested by hand, with the small 2024 crop delivering particularly concentrated fruit.

Whole bunches were pressed before fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The wine was fermented entirely in French oak barrels, using older wood to preserve the fruit’s definition. Full malolactic fermentation contributed roundness and a supple texture.

Maturation lasted 11 months in French oak barrels. This measured use of oak brings subtle savoury complexity while allowing the vineyard’s freshness to remain prominent. The concentration of the vintage gives the wine scope to develop further nutty complexity with bottle age.

Alcohol: 13.5%. Recommended drinking window: 2026–2033.l

Wine-Searcher Retailer Awards 2026/27 Gold, Overall List in Cardiff