| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | New Zealand > Auckland |
| Colour | White |
| Type | Still |
The aromas of apple pie, citrus, cream, and crushed stones are compelling. Full-bodied with a focused and phenolic center palate that gives form and energy to this young chardonnay. Flavorful but tense in the finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
The 2024 Hunting Hill Chardonnay is the ripest in alcohol of the 2024 releases, and it feels powerfully layered and driven on the palate. This is rich, almost thunderous in its positioning, with salted citrus and exotic spices (star anise/fennel/scraped vanilla pod). The oak here is polished and elegant, smoothing down any stray, loose hairs. The barrels have been air dried for three years and lightly toasted. The finish is tight and focused. This was tasted as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling.
Always shy at this early stage, this year's Hunting Hill boasts incredible depth despite its brooding nose. Very pale in colour with notes of lime cordial and fresh lemon zest, there is a flinty note of reduction in tandem with well-judged and savoury wood spice. The palate is taut, with steely acids set against intense, citrus-led fruit. A tightly wound, almost pithy structure gently eases with time in the glass and as the wine warms up. Then, you can see the tru potential here. The top notes of lime blossom and white flowers shine through with the reductive struck flint notes. The wood is subdued by the sheer weight of fruit coiled around it. This is a very impressive, pithy, long Hunting Hill that really speaks to the style this vineyard's reputation is built on. Give it at least 3 years before approaching.
Full screwcapped bottle 1,343 g. From a 3.37-ha vineyard planted in 2001. Hand-harvested, whole-bunch pressed before 100% spontaneous barrel ferment in French oak with 100% malo (25% new French oak, all François Frères and tight grained). 11 months’ ageing in barrel. Virus-free, so it’s always the earliest to be picked. They pulled out their Hunting Hill Pinot because it had leafroll virus and they were afraid it would spread. Harvest from end February to mid March for Coddington or Matés. Doesn’t face due north like the others and has an iron pan one foot below the surface. Lees contain spray residue so if you don’t rack you will accentuate reduction – struck match – according to Michael B. They retain just 1% lees. 250–300 NTU turbidity of 450 at other producers.
Bright mid-straw colour. Really flirtatious, really lean and fresh. Just a joy already! Real concentration and raciness. Sophisticated. Accessible but will obviously be long-lived. Super-clean. Neat and persistent. Super! Drink 2025-2040.
Super concentrated. Stylistically different to the Coddington, as less flesh and upfront charm and but instead plenty of sleek, lithe flinty reduction. Lemon blossom and apple sorbet. Great degree of ripeness and poise. A creamy, silken texture. Drink from 2030-2037. Tasted Aug 2025. ***** 5 Star Wine
100% barrel fermentation in 25% new French oak, followed by 11 months maturation in barrel;
14% alc.
First planted in 1982 (and replanted in 2001), this is a super-important wine in the portfolio and is always one of my preferred wines. This is, once again, the case in 2024, with a balletic, refined, delicate, and yet exceptionally long flavour that never seems too skinny or attenuated. I wrote my notes extremely fast here and dashed down ‘Spectacular’, ‘Tremendous’, and ‘Terrific’, without managing to add any more detail apart from a mighty score!
