History
After arriving in New Zealand in 1938 from Croatia Maté Brajkovich purchased a small vineyard with his parents in 1944, near the settlement of Kumeu, to the north west of Auckland. Maté’s son Michael took over the winemaking at Kumeu River Wines in 1982 and the potential began to be realised. The winery has now established its reputation as one of New Zealand's best white wine producers. Michael was New Zealand’s first master of wine and is one of the countries leading viticulturalists. The estate is particularly renowned for its Chardonnay, and its Maté's Vineyard Chardonnay wins international acclaim on a regular basis.
2020 Vintage
Michael Brajkovich has said that Kumeu River 2020 is the best vintage he has ever made! (his 39th vintage at Kumeu River!). The Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay 2020 scored a whopping 100 points from Wine Spectator and it has been awarded ‘Wine of The Year’ by James Suckling. This was selected from 25,000 wines tasted in the last 12 months to create the Top 100 Wines of 2021. A first for New Zealand and rare for a white wine. Needless to say, this was snapped up on release but the sublime quality has filtered through all of the 2020 chardonnays so buy them whilst you still can!
Location
The Brajkovich family are true pioneers of the New Zealand wine industry, crafting world class wines with integrity, energy and respect. The winery is located just to the Northwest of Auckland City. 75% of their grapes come from Kumeu, and 25% from Hawkes Bay. About 65% of their production is dedicated to Chardonnay, and that is what their reputation has been built on. The vineyards in Kumeu are all on heavy clay-based soils. Clay keeps soil cooler and wetter, and holds water the longest of any soil type, therefore no irrigation is required. In Hawkes Bay they have a limestone-based vineyard at 200m altitude which produces. Some of the most sought-after white wines are indeed grown from grapes in regions rich with limestone in the soil. Limestone rich wine regions include Burgundy, Champagne, Chablis. All the grapes are harvested by hand.
Winemaking
They use wild-yeast fermentation only, and the wines all undergo malo-lactic conversion. French oak barrels are used extensively, but not exclusively, for fermentation and maturation, and the wines are kept aged on their yeast lees for an extended period of time.
Chardonnay
The Chardonnays of Kumeu River pay homage to Burgundy and it is fair to say they are almost indistinguishable from their French counterparts, except for their unique freshness and vibrant fruit. We may have sold out of Mate’s Vineyard but the supreme quality and value of the 2020 vintage can be tasted through their other Chardonnays. If you are a big fan of white Burgundy, you simply have to try these;
Kumeu Village Chardonnay 2020
A great introduction to the Kumeu River range thanks to the combination of fermentation of 45% in old French oak barriques, and 55% in stainless steel tanks, resulting in very little oak influence. In turn, this has allowed the vibrant fruit to show through beautifully and fuses with a flinty, mineral edginess that provides focus and direction.
Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay 2020
A homage to the Côte-d'Or. Intense fruit and delicate oak on the nose, great grip on the palate and already accessible. It has both weight and a crystalline quality. Beautiful!
Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay 2020
First planted in 1982, Kumeu River's Hunting Hill Vineyard has always been an integral part of the blend used for the estate Chardonnay, and when produced as a single-vineyard expression shows off its ability to make full, richly fruited wine with a lean, mineral intensity.
Kumeu River Coddington Vineyard Chardonnay 2020
The Coddington Vineyard is known for the ripe and unctuous wine it produces for the Kumeu River blend, so much so that since 1996 it was given a single-vineyard status to reflect its importance and unique characteristics.
We know that 2020 was the wonder vintage but if you don’t manage to get hold of this before it all goes then check out the 2019 which was also an excellent vintage.
A mixed six pack from across the Kumeu River range would make a superb gift for any Burgundy lover.
For more information or to place an order, please contact the Bon Coeur team!
