Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard, Kumeu – 2017
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Vineyard Profile
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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 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.
- Location: Kumeu, Auckland
- Cultivation: Sustainable
- Size: 2.49 hectares (6 acres)
- Vine Age: Planted 1990
- Clones: Mendoza
- Soil: Clay loam
- Elevation: 45 meters (147 feet)
- Exposure: North facing
- Training: Lyre
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Vintage Report
- Yields: 4.0 tons/acre
- Brix: 21.5°
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Vinification
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Hand harvested
Whole-bunch pressed
Indigenous-yeast fermentation
100% barrel fermentation
100% malolactic fermentation
11 months maturation in barrel
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Technical Information
- Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
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Tasting Notes
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The Mate’s Vineyard is usually the most reserved and unyielding when young with a nose that is very closed, just giving hints of the golden queen peach and mineral notes that we expect from Mate’s Vineyard. On the palate, however, the flavor is very concentrated and distinctly richer than the other 2017 wines. Mate’s Vineyard has a perfect balance and freshness that sets this wine apart and makes it wonderful. This is a wine of immense concentration that will be very long-lived.
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Images
Reviews
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Kumeu River Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard, Kumeu – 2017 – The Wine Advocate – 95 Points
Always the longest lived of the Kumeu River Chards, the 2017 Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay starts off smoky and flinty, marked by zesty grapefruit and lime fruit. It's medium to full-bodied yet tightly coiled, with great energy, thrust and vitality, which translate into tremendous length on the electric finish.
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Kumeu River Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard, Kumeu – 2017 – Vinous – 94 Points
The 2017 Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay has a really beautiful, quixotic bouquet of apricot blossom, white peach, minerals and dandelion scents that waft temptingly from the glass. The harmonious, lightly spiced palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity and a succinct, perfectly pitched finish that offers just the right amount of sapidity. Superb. Tasted at the Kumeu River Chardonnay vertical in London.
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Kumeu River Chardonnay, Mate’s Vineyard– 2017 – James Suckling – 97 Points
The mineral character of this wine is currently so pronounced and the fruit so closed that it’s not easy, also because of the slight funk from reduction, to identify the grape variety. On the palate, this marathon-runner chardonnay is very clean and