Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay 2008
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Winemaker Notes
This wine is produced from a vineyard owned by Tim and Angela Coddington, whose grapes have been used in the Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay since 1998. It is a vineyard that produces very rich and opulent Chardonnay that we have often thought could make an excellent single-vineyard wine. In 2006 we decided to give Coddington single-vineyard status to reflect this vineyard's unique character.
The palate is forward, with a luxurious creamy texture and lovely balancing acidity. This wine, while delicious in its youth, will benefit from a period of bottle maturation of two to five years.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Orange and peach sherbet notes appear on the nose of the rich, medium to full-bodied 2008 Coddington Chardonnay. It's a fine example from a riper year, round and plush but still retaining a terrific line of acidity extending through the finish.
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Wine Spectator
This delivers wonderful depth and purity to flavors of lemon curd, yellow apple, Meyer lemon and apricot. Aromatic, with lanolin, honeycomb and floral notes, a terrific silky texture and wonderful acidity.
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Wine & Spirits
Oak dominates this wine for now. Underneath the caramel scents, there's an intense, seashell-like minerality that develops with air while the wood begins to mellow into the fruit flavors of lemon curd. Give this a year in bottle, then decant for a creamy seafood stew.
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Wine Enthusiast
Perhaps the biggest of Kumeu River's 2008 Chardonnays, the Coddington offers waves of tropical fruit—pineapple and carambola—allied to mouthfilling richness and balanced by citrusy acids and hints of roasted nuts.
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Founded in 1944 by Mick Brajkovich, wife Katé and son Maté, Kumeu River was one of the early pioneers in Auckland, New Zealand, that helped to establish its reputation as a world-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, they have been testing and championing screw cap closures for close to 20 years and the winery has gone on to become the globally recognized benchmark for non-Burgundy produced Chardonnay. All Kumeu River wines are hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and demonstrate exclusive use of indigenous yeast fermentation.
The Chardonnays of Kumeu River have gained a strong foothold within the international market, continuously and consistently receiving outstanding accolades. The winery is a globally recognized benchmark for age-worthy Chardonnay outside of Burgundy.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Grape-growers in the local subregions of Clevedon, Matakana and Waiheke Island, focusing on vineyard techniques to maximize quality, are producing very fine Bordeaux Blends from local grapes. Auckland is also an industrial area where winemakers can produce quality wines based on sourced grapes from neighboring regions.