West London Wine School Kumeu River Auckland Masterclass

We're extremely excited to host an evening with the now famous Kumeu River Estate. Classed as an 'Auckland Pearl' by Jancis Robinson, in addition to being listed in Decanter as 'the best Chardonnays in the world outside Burgundy', as judged in a blind tasting against top-flight Burgundy at often three-to-six times the price. This is classic contemporary Chardonnay at it's best.

Kumeu River Estate

The Brajkovich family own Kumeu River Estate near Auckland. Although Kumeu is a rather less fashionable wine district than some on New Zealand’s North Island, the Brajkovichs have proven that it is possible to make wonderful wines here. Michael Brajkovich, who was incidentally the first New Zealander to become a Master of Wine has been the winemaker since 1982. His non-conformist and forward-thinking approach has been particularly successful in creating wines that show the hallmarks of New Zealand although there is a definite Old Word inspiration throughout. Michael’s brothers Milan and Paul look after the vineyards and sales respectively so it is all a real family effort.

Both the Kumeu River Estate and top Maté’s Vineyard chardonnays are barrel-fermented and aged – they are also unusually ageworthy for New Zealand whites – and are thought of as some of the world’s best chardonnays.

Wines on Tasting

The tasting begins with a juicy fruit-driven red...

Kumeu Village Hand-Harvested Pinot Noir 2013 (£10)

Followed by an introduction to the Kumeu River Chardonnay...

Kumeu Village Hand-Harvested Chardonnay 2013 (£10)

Followed by a mini-horizontal of three single Chardonnay vineyard sites...

Kumeu River Coddington Vineyard Chardonnay 2014 (£24)Kumeu River Hunting Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2014 (£26)Kumeu River Maté's Vineyard Chardonnay 2014 (£32)

Followed by a vertical tasting of the blended product, the 'Estate Auckland Chardonnay'

Kumeu River Estate Auckland Chardonnay 2014 (£18)Kumeu River Estate Auckland Chardonnay 2013 (£18)

This is amongst some of the best Chardonnay in the world, comparable to fine Burgundy such as Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault and at a fraction of the cost.