Kumeu River Village Chardonnay / 2025 / 750mL

The Kumeu River Village Chardonnay 2025 is a bright, dry New Zealand Chardonnay drawn from hand-harvested vines in Kumeu, just north of Auckland, and Hawke's Bay. It is built around citrus drive and a savoury, mouth-filling texture rather than sweet tropical fruit, and it drinks well from the moment it is opened.

Grapefruit and lemon pith lead the aroma, with white peach, a dusting of almond meal and a faint waft of struck flint behind them. The palate follows the same line: pale stone fruit, green apple skin and a lick of nutty richness that keeps the fruit from feeling austere.

Acidity runs straight through the middle of the wine and holds it taut, while a fine chalky grip across the finish gives the Village more presence than its price suggests. The 2025 season in Kumeu was warm and unusually dry through harvest, with steady temperatures and moderate yields, and that shows as a little extra flesh and depth without blurring the wine's citrus edge. It closes bone dry and long.

Serve it with roast chicken and lemon, pan-fried snapper, a leek and gruyère tart, or scallops with brown butter. It also handles pork belly and creamy pasta more comfortably than most chardonnays at this weight.

Drink the Kumeu River Village Chardonnay 2025 now and over the next four to five years, with a year or two in bottle likely to soften the citrus and bring the nuttier flavours forward.