Mahi Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2023

Mahi - "our work" in Maori - is the project of Brian Bicknell, who returned to Marlborough in the 1990s convinced its valleys were being flattened into one regional style. His answer was to chase the character of individual sites rather than blend it away, and the wines made his name for exactly that. This Pinot Noir draws on two contrasting vineyards: the cooler Fareham Road end of Twin Valleys, which gives the wine its firm, fine-grained structure, and Ward, well south of Blenheim, which brings darker, deeper fruit. The fruit is hand-picked and largely de-stemmed, fermented with wild indigenous yeasts, then aged in French oak barriques. The approach is deliberately hands-off, built around texture and earthy, herby depth rather than sweet, upfront fruit. The result is full-coloured and supple, with wild raspberry and dark cherry over a subtle forest-floor earthiness and real palate weight. Serve a little cool, around 14-16°C.