KUMEU RIVER ESTATE CHARDONNAY 2024

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

The 2024 vintage is up there with one of the best ever for Kumeu River, however quantities are well down so our allocation is very limited. Now is your chance to access this world-class wine!

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 (2024 Vintage)
"Kumeu River Chardonnay is drawn from six different vineyard sites in the Kumeu Region. We are particularly careful in selecting only the very best grapes from these vineyards for our Kumeu River Estate label."

Michael Brajkovich MW, Winemaker notes (2024 Vintage)
"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."

David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, July 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"The second wine in the line up is the Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay, which has been made since 1985 using the best selection of what they had available from Kumeu. It’s now made from six vineyard sites and immediately shows the difference between Hawke’s Bay limestone and Kumeu clay. An age-worthy, complex and layered expression – perhaps a reflection of the lower yields this year? This could be the star of the vintage – at the price, certainly. A bright lemon, and grapefruit character sits alongside the peach, almond, lime curd and greengage in the bouquet. A zing of bright acidity forms a core and I don’t normally say this – but this one could do with a little more time in bottle to show its best."

90-92/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, June 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"The 2024 Estate Chardonnay is floral and tightly coiled, with a scratched lime backbone. It's not as complex as the Ray's Road tasted alongside, yet it's utterly composed and restrained. It is mineral and very good indeed. This was tasted as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling."