The Ray's Road vineyard is in Hawke's Bay, southeast of Auckland, on a north-facing slope at 180 meters above sea level. It is planted on limestone and dry-grown. The 2023 Rays Road Chardonnay is reductive, nutty and saline, with green inflections that highlight the solids in the wine. This is the most complex of the wines in this release, with curry leaf and saffron, sugar snap peas, green apple and caper brine in profusion, yet I feel it is also the most angular and the most obvious. Those seeking intensity of flavor will be attracted to this cuvée the most, for its intensity and depth, however it lacks the quiet focus of the other wines. 12.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Drink 2024 - 2033
The 2023 collection is the product of a challenging year. 2023 saw a deluge of rain across the North Island that, in the context of Auckland, brought the annual average up 1.5 times the norm, from 1,113 millimeters per year (1963 - 2022 at the Auckland Airport weather station) to 1,723 millimeters in 2023. When we consider the July 2022 to June 2023 numbers (the growing season fully encapsulated), the rainfall accumulation is even higher, at 1,964 millimeters*. Average rainfall per day in Auckland was 5.9 millimeters, up from 3.3 millimeters in 2022, and 2.2 millimeters in 2021. To bring context to this measurement, NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll said, “Those living in Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay have dealt with a constant barrage of sub-tropical lows, atmospheric rivers and ex-tropical cyclones, which caused copious amounts of rainfall. It has been quite relentless.”** Watching from afar, the north was subject to catastrophic flooding in parts and landslips, the evidence of which was still visible when I visited in November 2023. So, to see a collection of wines looking as good as these do, it is important to consider the full story, not just the wines in the glass.