We offer delivery in the Netherlands at a standard fee of €6.95 per order. Delivery is signed for and takes up to 5 working days. We also delivery in Belgium, Germany, Austria and France. Please enquire to wine@finewinelibrary.nl for a quote. Due to geographical restrictions, some wines may not be available for your market.
All orders are packed safely for transit meaning that the original carton/wooden box will not be supplied.
Ripe stone fruit/peach/nectarine flavours with nutty oak, vanilla, and bready yeast lees flavours. Complex and accessible wine that would benefit from a little bottle age but is deliciously accessible now.
Tim and Angela Coddington own this vineyard, and it is another wine that is hand-harvested, whole-bunch pressed, wild yeast fermented in 100% oak, and it spends 11 months in barrel (25% new) after malo. There is always a more solid feel about this cuvée, and it is less expressive on the nose and chunkier on the palate. I like it less than the others, but great pals of mine, whose palates I admire, often pick it out as a favourite! One thing is sure, it has a couple of years to go before it will start opening up and drinking well.
Kumeu River has long been the spearhead for New Zealand Chardonnay. Back in 1937, The Brajkovich family emigrated to New Zealand from their home country of Croatia. Back at home, they would both grow and produce wine for personal consumption. In 1944 the family purchased a small property with vineyards and started making wine. They started producing single-variety wines of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, their reputation started to take off in the 80’s for their quality.
Michael Brajkovich then had the vision to produce a Burgundy-influenced style of Chardonnay that featured indigenous yeasts, extended lees ageing, and malo-lactic fermentation. Fast forward to today and Kumeu River has won every accolade under the sun with the critics going crazy for the wines. “Amongst the very best Chardonnay producers in the world” standing “shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the grandest labels from Burgundy” are words uttered by Neal Martin (Vinous).
Kumeu Rivers prices are and have always been incredibly fair. You can essentially drink what is equivalent to Burgundy 1er or Grand Cru quality for around €30 per bottle. Their entry-level Village Chardonnay is one of our favourites for the value picks and we're known to drink it by the buckets upon release. The single-vineyard expressions of Mate's, Hunting Hill, Coddington and Rays Vineyards are all fantastic and we can't recommend them enough.