More brilliant wines from the overperforming Kiwi estate
'You couldn't make it up,' says Michael Brajkovic MW. Their 2019 vintage is 'just perfect' - he couldn't have written a better script for the weather. The vintage combines high energy with just the right amount of generosity and ripeness. Michael shakes his head and smiles with pleasure. He is convinced the 2019 Kumeu River wines are the best the Brajkovich family have ever made.
Which is saying a lot, because they have made some pretty good vintages here. They do have form… founded in the 1940s, Kumeu River can lay claim to being one of the founding estates of the New Zealand wine industry. Over the years, they have experimented with a range of grape varieties, but discovered it was always Chardonnay that did best in their clay-on-sandstone soils. Latterly, the accolades and comparisons to Burgundy's best have come pouring in - they are widely considered to be among the world's most outstanding Chardonnay-focused estates. As Neal Martin famously put it, their wines are 'White Burgundy in Kiwi clothing'.
The 2019 Estate Chardonnay is revelatory; combining prettiness and precision, the nose evokes nothing so much as an expensive Puligny-Montrachet. In the single vineyard cuvees, Coddington and Hunting Hill have swapped their usual roles; this year, the usually-richer Coddington is more lime and grapefruit, while Hunting Hill is a mouth-filling apricot and peach. Both are marked by their depth, texture and intensity. Mate's Vineyard is relatively closed now, but shows serious concentration and harbingers the future with touches of tropical fruit and smoke. And it's no longer just Chardonnay. Since 2018, they have been treating Sauvignon Blanc with an unusual dose of respect, from a new site. The Ray's Road Sauvignon Blanc is made from a high-sited Hawkes Bay vineyard on limestone soils, and rewards the experiment with a lovely bouquet full of flower, herb and fruit. /NT
Offered subject to confirmation; for shipment Autumn 2020
