Kumeu River is one of the leading estates in New Zealand (the country is also commonly referred to by its Māori name Aotearoa). Much of what we think of as standard winemaking practice in the country is really thanks to their efforts. They led the charge on growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, pioneered the use of indigenous yeasts, and also pioneered the use of screwcaps.
The estate began as a dream brought to fruition by decades of hard work by the entire family. Maté Brajkovich, originally from Dalmatia in southwestern Croatia, emigrated with his mother and sisters to join their father in New Zealand’s North Island. The family purchased a farm in Kumeu after years saving money earned by digging for resin from indigenous kauri trees. They farmed fruits and vegetables, and raised dairy cows. Although vines existed on the estate, they were hybrid varieties grown for home consumption. It quickly became apparent that the land was perfect for wine grapes. The family replanted and expanded production, and the wines took off. An international audience lapped up the dry reds.
It wasn’t until in the 1980s when Michael Brajkovich, the current winemaker and Maté’s son, began touring the wineries of Bordeaux and Burgundy that the family turned their focus on international varieties. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir took root, and today, their wines are international superstars. These are benchmarks for the region – a look at NZ terroir through the classic Burgundy lens.
These are wines for all-comers: Lovers of Burgundy will delight at these profound and unique wines, lovers of Oregon will rejoice at another successful cool-climate glimpse at our two favorite grapes, and lovers of New Zealand wines will appreciate another chance to enjoy this much-loved terroir through grapes beyond the now-ubiquitous Sauv Blanc.
Although there’s plenty to adore, there’s not too much to go around. Don’t miss these beauties!
“Despite being in the humid climes of West Auckland, New Zealand’s most famous Chardonnay producer continues to provide a benchmark for the rest of the country to emulate.” -Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, writing on the 2022 vintage
“Kumeu River continues to set the pace for New Zealand Chardonnay, from its unlikely base just west of Auckland.” -Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
The estate began as a dream brought to fruition by decades of hard work by the entire family. Maté Brajkovich, originally from Dalmatia in southwestern Croatia, emigrated with his mother and sisters to join their father in New Zealand’s North Island. The family purchased a farm in Kumeu after years saving money earned by digging for resin from indigenous kauri trees. They farmed fruits and vegetables, and raised dairy cows. Although vines existed on the estate, they were hybrid varieties grown for home consumption. It quickly became apparent that the land was perfect for wine grapes. The family replanted and expanded production, and the wines took off. An international audience lapped up the dry reds.
It wasn’t until in the 1980s when Michael Brajkovich, the current winemaker and Maté’s son, began touring the wineries of Bordeaux and Burgundy that the family turned their focus on international varieties. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir took root, and today, their wines are international superstars. These are benchmarks for the region – a look at NZ terroir through the classic Burgundy lens.
These are wines for all-comers: Lovers of Burgundy will delight at these profound and unique wines, lovers of Oregon will rejoice at another successful cool-climate glimpse at our two favorite grapes, and lovers of New Zealand wines will appreciate another chance to enjoy this much-loved terroir through grapes beyond the now-ubiquitous Sauv Blanc.
Although there’s plenty to adore, there’s not too much to go around. Don’t miss these beauties!
“Despite being in the humid climes of West Auckland, New Zealand’s most famous Chardonnay producer continues to provide a benchmark for the rest of the country to emulate.” -Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, writing on the 2022 vintage
“Kumeu River continues to set the pace for New Zealand Chardonnay, from its unlikely base just west of Auckland.” -Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
5% off any 4-8 in-stock bottles of Kumeu River wine
10% off any 9 or more in-stock bottles of Kumeu River wine
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Sale ends Saturday, March 16th at 9 am Pacific.
10% off any 9 or more in-stock bottles of Kumeu River wine
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Sale ends Saturday, March 16th at 9 am Pacific.
In Stock and On Sale Now from Kumeu River:
“Even at its so-called entry-level, the judicious handling of fruit, lees and oak offers layered styles.” -Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay, Kumeu 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $30.50 special, that’s $28.98 at 5% off and $27.45 at 10% off, 24 bottles in stock now
James Suckling 95 points “Aromas and flavors of sliced apples, lemon curd and hints of stone. Oyster shell. Lime undertones. It’s medium-bodied. Firm and fine phenolics. Tension and focus. Impressive for the vintage. Drink now or hold. Screw cap.”
Kumeu River Rays Road Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $35.50 special, that’s $33.73 at 5% off and $31.95 at 10% off, 13 bottles in stock now
James Suckling 94 points “Lemony and crisp with a stone and seashell undertone to the pretty fruit. Medium body, firm phenolics that tighten the wine on the palate. Racy and intense on the finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.”
Erin Larkin-Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2022 Rays Road Chardonnay is fine and spicy, with a tense line of acidity and phenolics—they feel linear and interwoven—that stream through the fruit. This is a very pretty, pithy Chardonnay with ground white pepper, white flesh peach, crushed shells, layers of juniper berry and star anise/cut fennel inflections. I like the staying power of the fruit in the mouth. It is persistent and long. This is really nicely done, and I’m looking forward to seeing this wine (and this vineyard) more over its journey. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.”
“… in Kumeu, temperatures did not once hit 30˚°C [in 2022]. As a result, there’s an unexpected freshness to the 2022 wines. They don’t have the firm line of 2021, but acidities are in line with 2019 and 2020.”
-Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay, Kumeu 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $53.50 special, that’s $50.83 at 5% off and $48.15 at 10% off, 14 bottles in stock now
James Suckling 97 points “Sliced apple, apple, sea shell and crushed stone aromas follow through to a full body yet it’s tight and structured with an impressive fruit, acidic and phenolic balance giving it focus and intensity. Drinkable but better in a few years. Screw cap.”
Erin Larkin-Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2022 Coddington Chardonnay leads with lemon balm/oil, green-olive brine, crème brûlée top (a.k.a. scorched brown sugar), peach fuzz, and an abundance of orchard fruit. In the mouth, kiwi fruit acidity (a.k.a. juicy, sweet, tart) defines the perimeters of the flavors and beckons you in for another, closer look. It’s very, very good, a distinct wine, pure, all aspects delineated and deliberate. I like this. It feels orderly and mathematical. If the wine had a sound, it would be a straight-pace bowl at the wickets, one flying out of stumps (name a better sound, I’ll wait). It’s not that immediately obvious, though; it builds and takes a while to assert itself, and I like that too. Very good. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.”
Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay, Kumeu 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $63.50 special, that’s $60.33 at 5% off and $57.15 at 10% off, 13 bottles in stock now
Rebecca Gibb MW-Vinous 96 points “The 2022 Chardonnay Hunting Hill is an impressive, focused style. It has a sense of energy, being almost buoyant with the movement of a skimming stone across your palate. There’s a powerful core of fruit here and it has plenty of substance within its no-more-than medium-bodied core before kerpow! It fires home with an almost spicy kick. Clever oak use, reminiscent of toasted nuts, meets restrained flavors of lemon and lime bitter and nectarine fruit. A wine that’s still in its cocoon so give it time. It may even have the edge of Maté’s… Big call.”
Erin Larkin-Wine Advocate 95+ points “The 2022 Hunting Hill Chardonnay is mouth-filling and obvious in its outlay of flavor in the mouth—yellow peach, apricot, Golden Delicious apple, beeswax/lanolin and ripe lime flesh. The flutter of acidity that feathers the fruit is compelling and alluring in its power and juiciness. An exciting wine. It’s a wine I want to drink (I will; the perks) and a wine I am enjoying considering too. It’s intellectual and sensorial/corporeal in equal measure. The Hunting Hill Vineyard was planted in 1982 and overlooks Mate’s Vineyard. This is a pleasurable, exciting, fleshy, complex, salty, kaleidoscopic wine. Excellent. Recommended. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.”
Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay, Kumeu 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $64.50 special, that’s $61.28 at 5% off and $58.05 at 10% off, 2 bottles in stock now
Rebecca Gibb MW-Vinous 95 points “The 2021 Chardonnay Hunting Hill is its usually sinewy, taut and lightly floral self. Often in the shadow of Maté’s Vineyard, Hunting Hill seems to be becoming more and more serious as the vines age – they’re around 20 years old. Expect a muscular, unyielding wine that has lemon and lime bitter notes, nectarine and even a whiff of seaside – all salty and briny.”
Kumeu River Pinot Noir Village, Kumeu 2020 750ml Displayed Price: $21.90 special, that’s $20.81 at 5% off and $19.71 at 10% off, 4 bottles in stock now
Winery note “Our love for Pinot Noir dates back to the mid-1980s when we planted our first block here in Kumeu. Having already started on our journey to create a world-class Chardonnay, we knew this grape needed a Burgundian counterpart because what grows well where great Chardonnay grows? Now produced from two sites, our Hunting Hill Vineyard in Kumeu and Rays Road in Hawke’s Bay, these two single vineyards show very different expressions of Pinot Noir. Hunting Hill Pinot Noir was planted in 1994 over clay and grown here in the warmer conditions of Kumeu, often providing a beautiful purity of black fruit characters. The Rays Road, in Hawke’s Bay, is a colder, higher altitude vineyard planted on limestone. It’s a much cooler site and provides very intense and focused Pinot Noir characteristics.”
From Wilson Daniels’ website, importer of Kumeu River wines for America: “Now, from the exceptional 2020 vintage, we have consolidated that quality expectation, and this year have blended the grapes from Rays Road (74%) with some outstanding richer Kumeu fruit (26%). The result is delicious. The wine displays a bright cherry red/burgundy color with lifted red fruit aromas. On the palate the wine is cool, round and fruity and with a nice hint of chalky tannin that keeps the wine dry and refreshing.”
Don’t miss our additional sales going on now:
Anne-Sophie Dubois
5% off any 6-11 in-stock bottles of Anne-Sophie Dubois wine
10% off any 12 or more in-stock bottles of Anne-Sophie Dubois wine
Bruna Grimaldi
5% off any 6-11 in-stock bottles of Bruna Grimaldi wine
10% off any 12 or more in-stock bottles of Bruna Grimaldi wine
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Anne-Sophie Dubois sale ends Thursday, March 14th at 9 am Pacific. Bruna Grimaldi sale ends Friday, March 15th at 9 am Pacific.