96/100 Cameron Douglas MS
Lemon × Chalky × Gunpowder 
🌿Sustainable Wine🌿
 
【Kumeu River】
After arriving in New Zealand in 1938, Dalmatian-born Maté Brajkovich purchased a small vineyard with his family in 1944, near the settlement of Kumeu, northwest of Auckland. When his son Michael took over winemaking in 1982, the potential of Kumeu River began to be fully realised. Today, the family estate is recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading white wine producers, particularly renowned for its internationally acclaimed Chardonnays.

Coddington Chardonnay is produced from a vineyard whose fruit had contributed to the Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay blend since 1998. Recognising its consistently rich and distinctive character, Kumeu River gave Coddington single-vineyard status in 2006. The site typically produces one of the estate’s richest and most generous Chardonnays, with a broad, silky texture and ripe stone-fruit character.

The 2025 Coddington Chardonnay opens with pristine white peach, ripe citrus and a subtle impression of earth smoke, marl and dry, friable soil. Fine lees and restrained French oak add savoury complexity, while a gentle creaminess gives the palate its characteristic richness and depth.

Generous and concentrated, yet remarkably pure, the wine combines ripe fruit with freshness and finely balanced acidity. Its silky texture and rounded mid-palate give it an inviting, almost Meursault-like character, while the long, clean finish brings precision and definition.

Already expressive in its youth, this is a rich and beautifully composed Coddington with the concentration and structure to develop further complexity with careful cellaring.
 
Chardonnay from Kumeu
Vintage: 2024
Volume:750ml