Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay

They’re one of NZ’s most iconic wine producers on the world stage. The family are pioneers in the NZ wine industry. They produce some of the very best Chardonnay you’ll find anywhere in Aotearoa. They’re the Brajkovich family and you’ll find them in the north Auckland suburb of Kumeu. Next to a river.

Slap the words ‘White Burgundy’ on the label and you’d be paid double and then some. Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay is one of NZ’s most iconic Chardonnays and, let’s be honest, it’s bloody well priced for what’s in the bottle!

Praise comes flying in from far and wide but we think Master of Wine Lisa Perrotti-Brown, writing for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, sums it up nicely:

“If you can taste history, duty, and family pride in a glass, it’s there in the Kumeu River Chardonnays… now producing some of New Zealand’s greatest Chardonnays, not to mention the world’s.”

This is a wine that is highly sought after every vintage and usually sells out well before the next one is ready to roll. So we’re bloody excited to see this latest 2024 vintage hit the warehouse.

And there’s plenty to be excited about with the Brajkovich crew clearly pretty happy with how this one came out. “We are particularly careful in selecting only the very best grapes from these vineyards for our Kumeu River Estate label.” said Michael.

He went on to say “The 2024 vintage gave very low yields combined with excellent summer ripening conditions. The Chardonnay it produced is rich and concentrated and up there with the best Estate Chardonnay we have seen in the past ten years. Beautifully fragrant and toasty on the nose the palate is rich and peachy with the hallmark refreshing acidity we expect in the Estate Chardonnay. Layered and complex this wine is quite delicious now but will no doubt benefit from bottle age as have its predecessors.“