PRE-SALE - WINES ARRIVE LATE NOVEMBER 2025

94-96 pts Wine Advocate
The 2024 Coddington Chardonnay is alive on the palate with preserved lemon rind, tendrils of crushed shells and layers of brine. It is electric, in its way. There are salted and crushed nuts on the middle palate and length, which uncoils through the finish that allows a second and third look at the detail inherent within. This is very exciting and also creamy. It was tasted as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling. Drink Date: 2025 - 2039

2024 Growing Season at Kumeu from the Kumeu's perspective:
After the difficulties of the 2023 season and the saturated soils from high rainfall, the 2024 season started well with nice, even budburst throughout the vineyards. Things were looking very good, until a short spell of wet and cold weather just on flowering meant that some decrease in yield was certainly to be expected.

The rest of the growing season was excellent, with mostly dry and warm conditions. While other parts of the country experienced quite high temperatures, ours were just moderately warm, and never exceeded 29°C.

This resulted in very steady berry maturation, with beautiful aroma and flavour development right up until harvest.

We did an early pick for the Crémant wines in Kumeu from February 8th to 20th, then started the Kumeu Chardonnay harvest on Leap Day, February 29th.  Harvest concluded with the last of the Rays Road (Hawkes Bay) Chardonnay on the 16th of March.

The harvest period itself was relatively free of rainfall, with only two small rain events interrupting the flow of vintage.  The picking crews had very little damage to sort through and the grapes arriving at the cellar were beautifully pristine. Hand harvesting is a very expensive process, but well worth the cost and effort for the quality it brings.