KUMEU RIVER CODDINGTON CHARDONNAY 2023

The Brajkovich family have carved out a reputation second to none for Chardonnay and every new release adds to that reputation.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
"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."

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"This wine is produced from a vineyard owned by Tim and Angela Coddington, whose grapes have contributed to the blend of Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay since 1998. It is a vineyard that produces very rich and unctuous Chardonnay that we have long believed could make an excellent single vineyard wine. In 2006, we decided to give Coddington single vineyard status to reflect this vineyard’s unique character."

Michael Brajkovich MW, Vintage notes (2023 Vintage)
"2023 rewarded our commitment and attention to detail with hand harvesting and triage in the vineyard. The result?  All of the 2023 Single Vineyard wines have now been bottled, and are excellent examples of their respective and distinctive terroirs."

94/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, October 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"From a vineyard in Kumeu, west Auckland – named after local owners Tim and Angela Coddington. A light green and golden straw colour in the glass. Boldly perfumed, with stonefruit, citrus, oatmeal, cardamom, danish pastry, orange blossom and a struck-match flintiness. Acidity if fresh, giving plenty of drive through the palate. A toasty spice note suggests oak is also forming the spine, and along with a a wet-stone minerality, there is plenty of structure on which that ripe fruit hangs. Texture has been a feature of the wine over the years, and there’s a velvet plushness at the back of the palate, where the elements gather together and are cossetted in the finish. Needs a little time to completely gel, but is a good bet for medium-term cellaring."

17+/20 JancisRobinson.com, September 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"Sturdy, dry, burgundian nose. Very textural start with very slight oiliness towards the end. Already very broachable with a tiny hint of lemon cough sweets on the finish. Will surely develop more creaminess and less of a grainy texture. Still some tannins evident. "

92+/100 Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, August 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"Quite a tangy number, with green apple, lemon/lime, fennel, a slight smoked almond thing, and some pastry dough. It jumps around a bit, has some flecks of green though it, quite some lemony bite, lots of flinty texture, though it feels maybe a little sharp and rolled up on the finish. It’s a good wine, though kind of edgy as at now, with lemon zest to close. I reckon it will soften and improve with a few more years; it certainly has the acid line to underwrite that. And in that respect, there’s maybe something of a young Hunter Semillon character about it, which leads me to this conclusion. It could well be a bit of a dark horse."

Reviews for the 2022 vintage below…

Rated Outstanding & 96/100 Cameron Douglas MS, Juy 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Always a favourite of mine and this ‘22 example is no different. A little closed, youthful and new. That said there's complexity and finesse as the wine opens out in glass, flavours and textures of grapefruit and fresh apple, cashew nut and spice layers from barrel, but nothing overdone. A wine of finesse and complexity, a Meursault moment with a silky and satin cream texture. Super fine tannins. A beautiful wine."

93/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, July 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Taut and tangy chardonnay with grapefruit, gunpowder, white-fleshed peach, oyster shell and green apple flavours. The wine has a firm backbone of acidity with a dusting of bright tannins. High-energy, mouth-watering wine that needs a few years to mellow and let the flavours integrate."