2025 Kumeu River Village Pinot Noir

Kumeu River |Hawkes Bay |Pinot Noir
Deliciously good value NZ Pinot Noir which is dry and savoury in style, not just a fruit bomb.

Price:
Sale price$25.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

The Brajkovich family might be the undisputed royalty of New Zealand Chardonnay, but their entry-tier red continues to be one of the best-kept bargains in the trans-Tasman Pinot market. The fruit for this bottling comes entirely from their high-altitude Rays Road property in Hawke’s Bay, sitting on an elevated limestone slope that injects a completely different personality compared to their Auckland home turf.  

An exceptional 2025 growing season gave them beautiful, clean fruit that didn't require any hiding. They hand-picked the blocks, let the wild yeasts do their thing, and skipped oak usage completely. Keeping the wine exclusively in stainless steel for seven months ensures you are looking at pure, unadulterated varietal energy rather than a faceful of wood.  

It drinks like a giant bowl of fresh field strawberries, crushed red plums, and dried botanical herbs. The weight is beautifully light and fluid, backed by a dusty, slatey tannin structure that leaves the finish dry and incredibly clear.

It is a humble, immediate red that offers serious master-maker pedigree for the price of a standard pub meal.  

In April 2017 we took possession of a vineyard at Rays Road in Hawkes Bay that was already planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The vineyard soil is wind-blown clay loess over limestone, so we were particularly keen to see how these varieties performed.


2018 was our first vintage from Rays Road and we were excited by the potential we saw with the Pinot Noir. Now, from the excellent 2020 vintage we have consolidated that quality expectation, and this year have blended the grapes from Rays Road with some outstanding richer Kumeu fruit with delicious results.


The wine displays a bright cherry red /burgundy colour with lifted red fruit aromas. On the palate the wine is cool, round and fruity and with a nice hint of chalky tannin that keeps the wine dry and refreshing.

Price Bracket $30 or Less
Type Red
Body Light Bodied
Variety Pinot Noir
Country New Zealand
Region Hawkes Bay
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure Screw Cap

Kumeu River

Like so many new world wineries, Kumeu River, is an immigrant success story, hard work, and growth from generation to generation.

The Brajkovich family’s story has grown in parallel to the growth of the New Zealand wine industry in general, established the Kumeu region north of Auckland.

3rd generation winemaker Michael Brajkovich ( New Zealand’s first MW) spent a vintage in Burgundy in the early 1980’ that changed the wineries trajectory and led them to place a singular focus on producing world class Chardonnay.

This change saw them rename the winery Kumeu River (from San Marino Vineyards) and evolve to a more Burgundian style of winemaking. Since these changes, the wines of Kumeu river have been recognised as belonging to the pantheon of Chardonnay on a global scale.

The Vineyards of Kumeu River Kumeu River

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Common Questions

Delivery is free on orders of $199 or more.

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

No sorry we do not have a store front and pickup is not available.

Yes, no problem. When placing your order select ‘Store at Different Drop and Delivery Later’ as your shipping method or reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order with additional instructions.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

Our warehouse is automated so unless you tell us otherwise, we will ship your order. If you would like us to hold your order please reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order and we are happy to store your order for up to 6 months at no charge. You can review our heat policy here.

Yes, of course. We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. You can see our price match policy here.

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

No, all prices are set at the full discounted dozen rate already.

Most wine retailers list at a single-bottle price and then discount 10–15% when you buy six or twelve. We've taken the opposite approach. Since the overwhelming majority of our orders are already 6 bottles or more, our list price is set for the case buyer from the start. There's no inflated single-bottle price to discount down from.

What that means for you:

- One price, same for everyone — no minimum to hit to unlock the best rate
- No mixed-six gymnastics to qualify for a discount
- Our single-bottle price is typically at or below a traditional retailer's by-the-dozen rate

Put simply: the box discount is already baked into the price.

**And if you find it cheaper elsewhere?** Let us know. If the same wine is available at a lower price at another retailer (including at their mixed-six or by-the-dozen rate) we're happy to match it.

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

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