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Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
2025 Maté’s Chardonnay, Kumeu River

2025 Maté’s Chardonnay, Kumeu River

Auckland, New Zealand

The Family Heirloom

Powerful, layered and beautifully measured, Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay brings a sense of occasion from the first glass. Ripe peach, pear and golden apple unfold alongside lime peel, chamomile and a delicate floral perfume. Salted cashew, gentle oak spice and a trace of wood smoke add savoury depth, while a flinty undertone gives definition to the generous fruit. Its complexity emerges gradually, rewarding a little air and an unhurried approach.

The palate is expansive and deeply concentrated, with a creamy texture shaped by bright lemon acidity and a fine, almost chalky grip. Orchard fruit gathers richness through the middle before citrus zest and savoury nuttiness carry the wine into a remarkably persistent finish. There is real substance here, balanced by the freshness that makes each sip inviting. A compelling choice for a special dinner, and an equally rewarding addition to the cellar, where its youthful intensity has the potential to develop over many years.

For when: You are opening something worthy of the people around the table.

Pairs with: Roast turbot with Champagne sauce, butter-poached lobster, chicken with morels and cream, seared scallops with brown butter, wild mushroom and Parmesan risotto, or aged Comté.

Maté’s Vineyard is a deeply personal wine for the Brajkovich family. In 1990, Maté replanted Chardonnay on the original property his family had purchased in 1944. Its first harvest followed in 1993, a year after his death, and the inaugural wine was released in November 1994 to mark fifty years at Kumeu River. Today, the vineyard remains a lasting tribute to his work and the family’s roots.

The warm, dry 2025 season brought excellent conditions for ripening, with steady temperatures encouraging concentrated flavour and generous texture. For Maté’s Vineyard, now thirty-five years on from replanting, the vintage delivers impressive depth while retaining bright citrus freshness. It is a particularly promising combination for a wine whose character becomes more intricate with bottle age.

Whats in the bottle
100% Chardonnay

Notable Awards
97 points, James Suckling & 97 points, Wine Advocate

£57.00 - £57.00
£57.00
£57.00 - £57.00
£57.00
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Kumeu River began in 1944, when the Brajkovich family, originally from Croatia, purchased a small vineyard and winery northwest of Auckland. Successive generations have developed it into one of New Zealand’s most respected Chardonnay estates. Winemaker Michael Brajkovich, who became the country’s first Master of Wine in 1989, has been instrumental in establishing its reputation for wines of complexity, balance and longevity.

The home vineyards benefit from a maritime climate, with ocean influence and cloud cover moderating temperatures through the growing season. Clay soils over sandstone retain moisture, allowing the vines to grow without irrigation. Maté’s, Hunting Hill and Coddington each reveal a distinct personality within this landscape, reflecting differences in position, planting material and growing conditions.

Sustainable vineyard management, hand harvesting and careful selection guide the family’s work. Indigenous yeast fermentation and patient maturation in French oak develop texture while preserving the character of the fruit. Their understanding of white Burgundy informs the approach, alongside decades of experience with the particular strengths of Kumeu.

Made from 100% Chardonnay grown in the 2.5-hectare Maté’s Vineyard, planted exclusively with the Mendoza clone in 1990. The sheltered, north-facing site lies on heavy clay over sandstone. Its low yields and slow ripening contribute to the wine’s concentration, with grapes harvested by hand.

Whole bunches are pressed, and the juice ferments entirely in French oak barrels using indigenous yeasts. Full malolactic fermentation contributes to the rounded texture, complementing the fruit’s natural acidity.

The wine matures for 11 months in French oak barrels, of which 30% are new. This brings subtle toast and spice to the concentrated fruit and gives the wine structure for extended development. Further bottle ageing should reveal additional savoury and nutty complexity.

Alcohol: 13.7%. Vegan. Recommended drinking window: 2026–2045.

Wine-Searcher Retailer Awards 2026/27 Gold, Overall List in Cardiff