Kumeu River Village Chardonnay 2023

Product Description:

Vastly underpriced for the sheer quality in the glass. 

Kumeu River, northwest of Auckland is home to some of NZ’s finest chardonnay producers.  Master of Wine and Winemaker Michael Brajkovich has been crafting fine chardonnay at the estate since the 1980’s. Pulling out all the stops, made from hand picked fruit (88% Hawkes Bay, 12% Kumeu) and vigorous selection from the low yielding vines, whole bunch pressed, wild yeasts, 40% of the fruit fermented in old French oak barriques  and full malolactic fermentation to soften the pristine acidity and add texture and dimension with very little oak influence on either nose or palate.

Kumeu’s “entry-level” chardonnay reveals the true class of this producer. 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. It's a Chardonnay you'll always want in the fridge.

Maker:

The Brajkovichs are focused on and internationally recognised as producing world class Chardonnay. In 1937, the first generation of the Brajkovich family arrive in New Zealand The story of Kumeu River Wines began to unfold more than half a century ago with the first generation of the Brajkovich family to arrive in New Zealand. In their small Croatian village of Živogošće, Mick and Katé Brajkovich had also farmed small plots of land, and had experience tending vines and making their own wine. After a few years of working in the gum fields, the family moved to Henderson in West Auckland, where Mick, Katé, and son Maté worked in local vineyards and orchards. By 1944, they had saved enough money to purchase a Kumeu property with a small vineyard.

The winery was steadily growing its reputation in the industry, it was not until the late 1970s and early 1980s that saw a marked evolution in the style and direction of the winery. In 1979, the winery moved away from the hybrids used for the production of fortified and basic red and white wines to varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. All popular and commonly known varieties today, these wines were relatively unheard of at that stage, at the time it was a bold and risky maneuverer. One that eventually paid off. 

Fast forward to 2014, after receiving numerous accolades (including Melba Brajkovich becoming a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the wine industry and community), we arrive at Kumeu River's watershed moment - A landmark blind tasting. Kumeu River's London based distributer Stephen Browett and his company Farr Vintners organise a blind tasting with the best palates, critics and wine writers in the world. Kumeu's Maté's, Coddington, Hunting Hill and Estate Chardonnay's are placed against a range of Premier Cru and Village Burgundies from the best producers. Kumeu triumphed over top white Burgundies in every flight apart from one, where it came first equal!

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.

Vineyard:

Kumeu River Wines come from 30 hectares of vineyards, predominantly on clay soils overlying a sandstone base. These soil types retain sufficient water at depth, even during the summer months, to ensure the deep vine roots continue to hydrate the vine without excessive vigour. Therefore, the vineyard is completely dry grown without irrigation, a factor that is critical to the quality of Kumeu River’s grapes. Further, the vineyards are trained on a ‘Lyre’ trellis to help optimise exposure to light and increase grape maturity and quality. One of the distinguishing factors of Kumeu River’s wines is all of the grapes are harvested by hand. This allows the opportunity to remove sub-standard grapes by hand; the result is a net yield of purely high-quality grapes.

In 2023, Kumeu vineyards Hunting Hill, Coddington and Mate's copped a 12 hour deluge of rain four weeks before harvest, even instances of flash flooding.  Luckily, there was minimal vineyard damage. By harvest time, the fruit all looked amazing on the vine, but due defoliation, there were leaves available to continue the ripening process. Over at Rays Road vineyard in Hawkes Bay (acquired in 2017), while it did not get the January deluge, it did endure the wicked weather that came with Cyclone Gabrielle. At 180m altitude, the vineyard wasn't affected by flooding, but the rainfall also reduced yields as was the case with Kumeu. Both Kumeu and Rays Road had earlier harvests than usual, but the wines still have the zesty minerality and vibrancy that is typical of that limestone soil. As always everything was harvested by hand, allowing for meticulous triage so that only high quality fruit made it to the presses. For the 2023s no new oak was used during fermentation, of course having such a small vintage meant that the proportion of 1 and 2 year-old barrels was much higher than usual, and the oak feel to these wines is very similar to a normal vintage. 

A few weeks after vintage was over, and the ferments had settled down, the wines in the cellar were looking very good indeed. Overall the 2023s are certainly lighter with reduced yields, more ethereal in style compared to the last four years, but as ever individual vineyard terroir is on full display, shining through strongly with impressive precision, giving that strong sense of place and vineyard character.

Nose - Nervy, Citrus, Flint
Vibrant fruit on show through beautifully with lively lime and lemon aromas and flinty

Palate - Lemon, Lime, Subtle Almond Cream 
Chablisesque, with subtle fruit character, delicate and wound up tight. Perfect aperitif style.

Finish - Sea Shells, Fig, White Peach Edges
Lovely mineral edginess with hints of fig and white peach.

The first vintage of Village Chardonnay I tasted was from the 2002 vintage and it has been my “house Chardonnay” ever since. - Bob Campbell - MW 

The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal -  Chardonnay
Country - New Zealand
Region - Hawkes Bay & Kumeu, North Island
Vintage - 2023
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 12.5%
Other - Vegan Friendly