Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard, Kumeu – 2006
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Introduction
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In 1990, Maté Brajkovich reworked the land at Kumeu River and planted a new vineyard of Chardonnay on the site of the family’s original vineyard, purchased in 1944. The first harvest from these new vines was in March 1993, the year following Maté’s death. The six-acre vineyard was named Maté’s Vineyard in his honor, and the resulting single-vineyard wine was first released in November 1994 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Brajkovich family’s arrival in Kumeu. This is Kumeu River’s (and arguably, New Zealand’s) finest Chardonnay, limited in production, Burgundian in style, elegant and long-lived.
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Vineyard Profile
- Vine Age: 17 years
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Vintage Report
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2006 was a spectacular vintage, and Kumeu River’s Chardonnays across the board are ripe, floral and delicious. This vintage sees the continuation of the Maté’s style of Chardonnay, originating from this defined, superior vineyard site and exhibiting its own nuances and shades of aroma and flavor.
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Vinification
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Whole-bunch pressed
- Fermentation: Indigenous yeast fermentation
- Malolactic: 100% malolactic fermentation
- Barrel Fermentation: 100% barrel fermentation
- Barrel Aging: 12 months in French oak
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Technical Information
- Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
- Production (in cases): 1,200 cases (12/750ml)
- Cases Imported: 300
- Alcohol: 13.5%
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Tasting Notes
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Mate’s Vineyard is always set apart from the other Kumeu River Chardonnays with its lifted, sweet fruit aroma that is akin to pears. On the palate, there is extra concentration and length of flavor. This is certainly a wine that will benefit from bottle aging of four to six years.
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Images
Reviews
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Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard, Kumeu – 2006 – 91 points – Wine Spectator
“Tightly wound, with an impressive core of intensity to tangy lemon, nectarine and crushed stone flavors.”
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Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard, Kumeu – 2006 – 91 points – Wine Enthusiast
“The 2006 Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay is the tightest and least evolved of KR’s 2006s, showing slightly nutty, toasted-grain notes upfront, followed by crisp, taut flavors of pineapple and lime. Finishes long, with vibrant citrus flavors.”
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Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard, Kumeu – 2006 – 95 points – The Wine Advocate
"This has the most elegance and harmony of the three single vineyards with just perfect acidity and harmonious, cohesive finish inflected with apricot and white peach. Very refined, this would challenge the superiority of many white Burgundy wines."