Chardonnay grapes in the sunshine

Chardonnay grapes in the sunshine
© NZ Wine

Kumeu River releases 2021 vintage

New Zealand’s Chardonnay legend Kumeu River presents its latest vintage – along with a sparkling wine, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.

Paul Brajkovich, marketing director of Kumeu River Wines, was in London to present the Kumeu River Chardonnays from the brilliant 2021 vintage but also brought along a sparkling Crémant, a Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir.

From Croatia to New Zealand

The Brajkovich family – immigrants from Croatia – bought their first vineyard in Kumeu in 1944 and have made wine ever since. It was in the 1980s and 1990s that they made their name with outstanding Chardonnay, all grown in the clay soils of their Kumeu estate. Brajkovich notes that “2021 had a lovely purity of fruit.”

Crémant, acidity and aperitifs

The family started producing sparkling wines in 2012 and the current release is based on the 2015 vintage, with older reserve wines, and was disgorged after almost three years on its less with a dosage of 4g/l. “We wanted to create an aperitif style with freshness,” Brajkovich says. And all the freshness is there – despite the location of the winery northwest of Auckland and the latitude of 36.7°south: “We are situated no more than 30 minutes from either coastline,” Brajkovich explains, referring to the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific. Summer temperatures thus hover around the mid-20s and rarely even reach 30°C. This also explains the acidity in all the wines – no acidification is needed. Talking about aperitifs, Brajkovich moves on to his Pinot Gris, also grown on the estate vineyards and marked by just the same lively streak of freshness. The Pinot Noir that he presents last, also happens to be made in a light aperitif-style: completely unimpeded by oak, the Village Pinot Noir 2021 should come with a danger warning, so full is it of tart cherry fruit and so very appetising.

Two regions

Brajkovich presents six Chardonnays in total, starting with the Village Chardonnay 2021. This is a blend of Chardonnays grown both in Kumeu (70%) and in Hawke’s Bay (30%), further south on the North Island – on a rare patch of limestone in New Zealand, combining the ripe fruit of Kumeu with the zesty freshness of the limestone vineyards. The Village Chardonnay 2021 was barrel fermented and sets the tone. It was a severe frost in 2015 that prompted the family to source Chardonnay outside their own region and they found the Rays Road Vineyard that had been planted in a joint venture between the Trinity Hill Estate and French winemaker Pascal Jolivet – precisely because it was on these soils. The Brajkovichs bought the Rays Road Vineyard in 2017 and now make a single-vineyard wine out of it. Rays Road is at 180m of altitude and has a lovely, cool focus.

The Kumeu Chardonnays

The tasting continues with the Kumeu Estate Chardonnay which Brajkovich notes is “a benchmark” sourced from six sites across the clay soils on the Kumeu estate. This wine was first made in 1985 – and like all the other wines shown has been hand-harvested, whole-bunch pressed and fermented spontaneously in barrel. The single vineyard Coddington Chardonnay is grown on a vineyard of heavy clay. Brajkovich calls it “a real sun-trap” that always brings forth luscious fruit. In contrast to the Hunting Hill Chardonnay, this vineyard, while also north-facing, undulates towards the southwest, “towards prevailing winds and the breezes from the west coast,” Brajkovich says. “On a cool, windy day you can smell the sea. The wine itself is a more floral, perfumed style of Chardonnay – Huntington is more about lime and a mineral edge.” The final wine is the most famous: Maté's Vineyard Chardonnay 2021. This was planted in the early 1990s on the very first vineyard that the family had bought in 1944. The vines, grafted on low-vigour rootstocks, are trained in a Lyre shape, channelling their vigour, catching sunlight and ventilating the canopy – all is aimed at achieving a low yield of very healthy grapes. The first grapes were harvested from the new planting in 1993 and the wine has since become legendary. It stands out. Brajkovich notes that all the vines are dry-farmed and recommends bottle age for his wines – notwithstanding the fact that they are delicious to drink now.

READ THE TASTING NOTES HERE

Anne Krebiehl MW
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