Description

Kumeu River, northwest of Auckland is without a doubt NZ’s finest chardonnay producer. Master of Wine and winemaker Michael Brajkovich has been crafting fine chardonnay at the estate since the 1980’s. Hand picked fruit and vigorous selection from the low yielding vines, whole bunch pressed, wild yeasts, 100% fermented in French oak barriques and full malolactic fermentation to soften the pristine acidity and add texture and dimension. Not surprising Michael is not shy in comparing his Chardonnays with the great White Burgundies like Domain Leflaive!

At a blind tasting in London (May 2015) of the most highly esteemed White Burgundies with a panel of experts (included leading wine writers Jancis Robinson and Neal Martin of eRobertParker.com) the Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay 2012 was the hightest rated wine against Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet and Anne-Claude Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet .. wines vastly more expensive! As Jancis reported .. “won hands down, costing a fraction of the wines they trounced” and added that “the Kumeu wines shone because they were better made and more sophisticated….fresh as a daisy and clearly a glorious future ahead”. Other comments from the tasting …. Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate .. “Kumeu River’s Chardonnays … some of the best in the world … a world-class estate producing world-class wines.” Mathew Jukes “…crushed the Old World stars with ease! You must find a space for these wines in your cellar …these are incredible wines. One sip is all that is needed to add Kumeu to your list of greats.”

Only the best parcels of fruit from six different vineyard sites go into the Estate Label.

From the Winery: “The quantity of Estate Chardonnay for 2015 is less than expected due to spring frost and poor flowering. The summer of 2015 and due to the low yield this wine has remarkable depth and intensity. The nose is immediately fragrant and peachy, the texture rich and lingering with a beautiful bracing acidity on the finish. The wine is delicious now but with this level of concentration and complexity it certainly will be very long-lived.”

5 Stars Michael Cooper, NZ Wine Guide “This wine ranks fourth in the company’s hierarchy of five Chardonnays, after three single-vineyard labels, but is still outstanding. Grown at Kumeu, in West Auckland, it is powerful, with rich, beautifully interwoven flavours and a seductively creamy texture, but also has good acid spine. The key to its quality lies in the vineyards, says winemaker Michael Brajkovich: ‘We manage to get the grapes very ripe.’ Grown in several blocks around Kumeu, hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and lees-aged (with weekly or twice-weekly lees-stirring) in Burgundy oak barriques (typically 25 per cent new), the wine normally undergoes a full, softening malolactic fermentation … The 2015 vintage (5*) is also a top buy. Open and expressive in its youth, it has fresh, ripe grapefruit, peach and spice flavours, gently seasoned with smoky, toasty oak, good complexity, a slightly minerally streak, lively acidity and impressive length. Drink 2016 – 2020″

90/100 Bob Campbell MW “Chablis-like acidity and minerality, with flavours of green apple, citrus, grapefruit, white peach and a suggestion of bran biscuit. A taut, youthful wine that needs time. Nice purity and a lengthy finish. 1/10/2016” Drink 2016 – 2022
RRP $49