Kumeu River Mates Vineyard 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 Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay is KR’s flagship Chardonnay and quite simply one of the best you’ll find in NZ!

That’s why in every vintage since 2008 this wine has received a 95 point score or higher with The Real Review. Named after Maté Brajkovich who in 1990 planted a new vineyard of Chardonnay vines on the original vineyard site he and his family bought back in 1944. The first release was in 1994, a year after Maté’s death, and marked 50 years since the Brajkovichs started up in Kumeu.

Not to buck the trend this latest 2023 release has a 97/100 score with international critic James Suckling who said “Medium- to full-bodied with layered and creamy phenolics that give a lovely, almost velvety texture to the wine, and then the end is so crisp and minerally.”

This is what winemaker and Master of Wine Michael Brajkovich had to say about this release – “The concentration and density of Mate’s Vineyard shines through in this wine even though the 2023 vintage was lighter with a moderate alcohol of 12.5%. No new oak was used in the vinification due to the lighter yields but there was a high proportion of 1 & 2 year old barrels which means the oak feel to this wine is similar to other vintages The vine age of Mate’s Vineyard, now 33 years, contributes to the inherent quality and reputation of this wine and we are confident that bottle age of up to ten years will be beneficial. Extremely limited in supply and will cellar for 7-8 years from vintage.”