2014 New Zealand

This property is named after the owner’s great, great-grandfather and New Zealand’s first Surveyor General, John Turnbull Thomson, who carried out a marathon reconnaissance survey of Otago in 1857. The vineyard practises biodynamic viticulture and the wines are made by prominent local winemaker Dean Shaw of the Central Otago Wine Company.

The Surveyor Thomson Pinot is immediately soft and appealing on the nose, with generous red and black berry fruit. There is a lovely depth to the fruit but it is not lush at all. Instead this is a tight, focused Pinot Noir with an herbal twist and a crunchy, fresh, black-fruited finish. Drink now to 2024.

Of the Single Vineyards, the Coddington is the most approachable in its youth. Another great wine from Chardonnay masters Kumeu River. The 2014 Coddington is brimming with orchard fruit, baked lemon and a saline, mineral note – New Zealand’s answer to Chassagne Montrachet perhaps. Lots of nervy acidity on the palate, with hint of peach and orange blossom adding weight. I’d give this a couple of years in the cellar. Drink 2018-2025
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager

Established in 1944, Kumeu River Wines is still owned and operated by the Brajkovich Family.  Michael Brajkovich is producing some of the best New Zealand Chardonnays currently available, wines that get their inspiration from white Burgundy and in particular the likes of Puligny Montrachet & Chassagne Montrachet, especially in terms of reserve and minerality. 

There is a rather tired tendency amongst the trade to compare New world with Old world wines but genuinely the Kumeu wines are comparable.  This comparison in no way takes away any of the new Zealand-ness of these wines, it is just meant to emphasise the extreme quality one can find here at a fraction of the price one would spend for the same quality in the Northern hemisphere.

These terroir driven wines compete with the best the New World has to offer like Giaconda, Penfold’s Yattarna but with a price attractive to many. The current vintage of 2014 is once again an exemplary vintage in a string of superb offerings from this estate.  For any white wine lover, these Chardonnays are a must have.

Dark, ruby-tinged red. Perfumed scents of cassis, crushed raspberry, bay leaf, tobacco leaf and curry powder. Boasts excellent intensity and thrust but still youthfully dumb and clenched in the mid-palate. But this wine boasts terrific depth to its flavors of dark berries, flowers and spices. With a firm spine of ripe tannins, this wine has the structure to support a long and graceful evolution in bottle.
Stephen Tanzer - Vinous, February 2016

The Pinot spends three weeks on the skins before being aged for 12 months in French oak, of which 35% is new. Attractive pale ruby in colour, the nose of this 2014 Pinot Noir is laced with ripe cherry fruit and red liquorice, with a lifted perfume of black raspberry leaf. The palate is elegantly balanced with fine tannins which surround a succulent core of red cherries and mulberries, overladen with notes of clove and violets. Medium in body with a refreshing acidity which keeps everything in check and leads towards a moreish finish. A very fine effort with a lot to like here, and will offer enjoyment from 2017 – 2025.
Chris Lamb, Private Account Manager