Kumeu River Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay 2011
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Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
This is the 19th vintage of the Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay produced from the low-yielding Mendoza clone. The vine age and distinctive characteristics of this clone help give Maté's Vineyard — the only remaining vineyard the winery has planted to the Mendoza clone — its unique character. This wine has always displayed a lifted fruit aroma reminiscent of ripe pears, but with a mineral edge. The palate is always long and concentrated. The 2011 vintage Chardonnay displays the complexity and concentration expected from this vineyard, with great tautness and length on the palate. It will evolve beautifully over the next six to eight years and beyond.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The flagship Kumeu chardonnay delivers Montrachet-like richness and deep complexity. The weight is staggering but the poise and balance makes it all seem effortless. Ripe peach and pear, citrus and gently toasty oak, with chalk and nougat, too. The palate has terrific concentration and impressive layering and build, crescendos with impressive energy and then fades with sizzling acidity holding it in place, with a grilled-hazelnut finish.
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Wine Spectator
The apricot, yellow apple, quince, pear, toasted spice and honeysuckle notes are focused and harmonious, set on a smooth body, with a lift of juicy acidity on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The lively 2011 Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay relies more on lemon and lime notes for its appeal, being only medium-bodied and showing ample length and freshness. It's not a ripe, opulent vintage but remains charming and elegant.
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Wine
Founded in 1944 by Mick Brajkovich, wife Katé and son Maté, Kumeu River was one of the early pioneers in Auckland, New Zealand, that helped to establish its reputation as a world-class wine region. Still family owned and run, Kumeu River continues to pioneer new frontiers: winemaker Michael Brajkovich became New Zealand’s first member of the prestigious Institute of Masters of Wine, London, they have been testing and championing screw cap closures for close to 20 years and the winery has gone on to become the globally recognized benchmark for non-Burgundy produced Chardonnay. All Kumeu River wines are hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and demonstrate exclusive use of indigenous yeast fermentation.
The Chardonnays of Kumeu River have gained a strong foothold within the international market, continuously and consistently receiving outstanding accolades. The winery is a globally recognized benchmark for age-worthy Chardonnay outside of Burgundy.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Grape-growers in the local subregions of Clevedon, Matakana and Waiheke Island, focusing on vineyard techniques to maximize quality, are producing very fine Bordeaux Blends from local grapes. Auckland is also an industrial area where winemakers can produce quality wines based on sourced grapes from neighboring regions.