"...as for value, they won hands down, costing only a fraction of the wines they trounced" - Jancis Robinson, following blind tasting of Kumeu River Chardonnay and fine white Burgundy. (https://bit.ly/33BRv4t)
The Brajkovich family and Kumeu River Wines is a story that parallels the New Zealand wine industry. From the pioneering days to the establishment of the New Zealand wine industry to today, the Brajkovich family have been internationally recognised as producing world class wine. The Brajkovichs are focused on and internationally recognised as producing world class Chardonnay. Just as the Brajkovich family has grown, so too has the winery itself. Extensions and additions mark the milestones that have seen business adapt and expand over the years. Today, the winery produces around 250,000 bottles annually from 30 hectares of its own vineyards in Kumeu, and another 10 hectares from local growers. The Chardonnay wines of Kumeu River have gained a strong foothold within the international market, receiving outstanding accolades. The vineyard has gone on to become the globally recognised benchmark for non-Burgundy produced Chardonnay.
New vintage coming soon
KUMEU VILLAGE CHARDONNAY
This is a wine where we always have a bottle in the fridge. The perfect aperitif Chardonnay, this wine also goes very well with all types of seafood. Fermented 45% in old French oak barriques, and 55% in stainless steel tanks, there is very little oak influence on either nose or palate. This has allowed the vibrant fruit to show through beautifully with lively lime and lemon aromas and a flinty, mineral edginess with hints of fig and white peach.
The weighty mid-palate also shows peachy ripeness along with crisp acid minerality that gives the wine a refreshing cleansing quality. This wine is delightful as an aperitif, and even better to drink with fish and shellfish.
KUMEU RIVER ESTATE CHARDONNAY
Kumeu River Chardonnay is drawn from six different vineyard sites in the Kumeu Region. We are particularly careful in selecting only the very best grapes from these vineyards for our Kumeu River Estate label.
The 2018 vintage was warm but with some weather episodes during harvest. This made hand harvesting crucial in maintaining the standard of the Estate Chardonnay that we have set for this wine. The nose shows the ripe peach and nutty character that we expect to see from the Estate Chardonnay. The texture supple and with a beautiful bracing acidity on the finish. The wine is delicious now and will provide beautiful drinking over the next 6 years.
2018 – 93 Points Wine Enthusiast
2017 – 92 Points Robert Parker
KUMEU RIVER MATÉ’S CHARDONNAY
In 1990, Maté Brajkovich reworked the land and planted a new vineyard of Chardonnay vines on the site of the original vineyard that he and his family purchased in March 1944. The first grapes from this vineyard were harvested in March 1993, the year following Maté’s death. The resulting wine was released in November 1994 to coincide with celebrations marking the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Brajkovich Family’s arrival at Kumeu River.
The Mate’s Vineyard is usually the most reserved and unyielding when young with the nose being closed, just giving hints of the golden queen peach and mineral notes that we expect from Mate’s Vineyard. On the palate however, the flavour is very concentrated and distinctly richer than the other 2018 wines, but maintaining a perfect balance and freshness that sets this wine apart and makes it wonderful. Although the 2018 is a little more forward than other vintages this is a wine of concentration that will be very long lived.
2018 – 93 Points Robert Parker
2017 – 95 Points Robert Parker
2016 – 94 Points Robert Parker
SKU | NAME | VINTAGE | FORMAT |
|---|---|---|---|
117812 | KUMEU VILLAGE CHARDONNAY | 2016 | 12X750ML |