“This family outfit in Auckland make some of the best Chardonnays in the world and in 2021 the Estate blend is exceptionally good, and cheaper than the single-vineyard bottlings. A fair copy of a fine Chassagne!” - Jancis Robinson MW

“Exceptional value and benchmark quality.” - Decanter, 94 points

Unless you have been hiding in a bush since we started Vin Cognito, you will have heard us extolling the virtues of Kumeu River, their deeply contemplative winemaker, Michael Brajkovich MW, and their amazing old-world-meets-new-world Chardonnays, which are bought the world over by fans of white Burgundy, because they impersonate those wines with such aplomb that you’d think they were in the room. I realise that the wheels came off that metaphor about halfway through, but the point is that Kumeu River’s 2021 Chardonnays sell for a fraction of 2021 white Burgundies of a similar quality, so they are a delicious decoy for when you want a world class Chardonnay experience, but you can’t justify the expense of a Meursault or a Chassagne-Montrachet. Jancis Robinson agrees and gave this wine one of her coveted GV (“Good Value”) awards.

It’s a blend of six different sites within the Kumeu River estate, offering mellow intensity (I’m having a field-day with figures-of-speech today!), without any excess fat, its youthful dash and cool acidity tying it together into a neat and precise finish. It offers a classic Chardonnay fingerprint of white-fleshed orchard fruits, layered with flaky pastry, toasted oats and a mere whiff of oak-derived smokiness to give it further dimension. It’s drinking well now, but still has a long way to go. 13.5% alc. 20% new oak. Drink now-2030.

Press reviews:

Jancis Robinson MW: “Smoky, tense and lively on the nose. Very fine and open. Slight smokiness on the palate also. Great balance. (2006 and 2007 are still looking good in 2022 apparently.) A fair copy of a fine Chassagne! Good Value. Drink now-2032.” 17+ points

Decanter: “The Brajkovich family’s single vineyard Chardonnays always overdeliver, but the Estate blend offers exceptional value and benchmark quality. The 2022 is the current release, but you can still find this 2021 [from a few exceptional wine merchants!] - a lower-yielding year in which the concentration, creamy texture and smoky lemon myrtle flavours, offset by preserved lemon acidity, set it apart. Perfect with crispy-skinned chicken - or just the roast veg. Drink now-2033.“ 94 points

“New Zealand's most famous Chardonnay producer continues to provide a benchmark for the rest of the country to emulate.” - Vinous