Kumeu River, the Brajkovich family estate just north-west of Auckland, is New Zealand’s most celebrated Chardonnay producer, its wines regularly tasted blind alongside top white Burgundy and holding their own. The Estate Chardonnay is a blend of the family’s own Kumeu vineyards, hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented with indigenous yeasts, then aged in French oak (a modest proportion new) with full malolactic for texture.

An iconic wine and a benchmark for global Chardonnay, offering extraordinary value for a wine of this calibre: elegant and refined, with ripe peach, citrus and subtle toast, balanced by fresh acidity and a long, creamy finish.