WINERY Family owned and operated since 1944 by the Brajkovich family, Kumeu River was one of the early pioneers in Auckland, New Zealand and helped establish its reputation as a word-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.

WINE This wine is produced from a vineyard previously owned by Tim and Angela Coddington whose grapes have contributed to the blend of Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay since 1998.

The Coddington 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.

Everything looked good for vintage until January 27, when we received 260mm of rain in 12 hours, causing flash flooding. There was minimal vineyard damage, and water in the cellar for about an hour. The main issue was the heavy rain just 4 weeks before harvest. Downy mildew became a major problem as we couldn’t spray the vineyards, and any protection was washed off. By the time we harvested some Chardonnay vineyards, they were defoliated. Like in Kumeu, we had to harvest earlier than usual, but the wines still have the typical zesty minerality. Everything was hand-harvested, ensuring only highquality fruit made it to the presses. We used no new oak for fermentation, but with a small vintage, the proportion of 1 and 2-year-old barrels was higher than usual, giving the oak feel similar to a normal vintage. A few weeks after vintage, the wines in the cellar looked very good, though lighter in texture than the previous 4 vintages. The encouraging aspect of 2023 is that the individual vineyard terroir characters are shining through strongly, still giving a strong sense of place and vineyard character.

Fruit was hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and fermented with wild yeast in older French Oak barrels. After malolactic fermentation is complete, the wine is then matured for 11 months in French oak.

Yeast: Indigenous

The single-vineyard Coddington wine is richly ripe in the yellow peach and apricot spectrum, with a background of toasted oak and caramelized hazelnut. It is the biggest style in our range, and satisfyingly rich as such, but also nicely balanced with its acidity.