One of the finest chardonnays in the country

2007 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay, Kumeu, North Island, New Zealand (£16.40-£17.99, Tanners, 01743-234500; The Wine Society, 01438-741177; Bennetts, 01608-661409; Ten Acre, 01992-618017; Farr Vintners, 020-7821 2000).

I tasted a brilliant horizontal/vertical selection of Kumeu River's incredible Chardonnays the other day. The 2006, 2007 and 2008 of all four cuves Estate, Coddington, Hunting Hill and Mat's made this my most complete look at this pioneering winery.

I have been following it since its first release in the late eighties. The Brajkovich family makes the finest chardonnays in the country. What is so exciting about this news is that the wines are eminently affordable (unlike top flight Burgundy), they age beautifully (think ultra-premium Chablis-style lifespan) and they all seem effortlessly balanced and ethereal (unlike the vast majority of the world's top-end versions of this grape).

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

A number of canny wine merchants bring these must-have wines into the country and my pick of them is noted above. There is also a pretty diverse spread of cuves and vintages out there so I would encourage you to try to buy across as wide a selection as you can these are incredible wines. One sip is all that is needed to add Kumeu to your list of greats.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year.

Matthew Jukes has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006.

He has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.