17-Sep-2013
Mahi winemaker Brian Bicknell has a certain passion and enthusiasm for the Chardonnay grape and making Chardonnay wine, stating that it is his favourite variety, his "plan is to be drinking great White Burgundy as I die” he says. In both his ‘Marlborough’ and single vineyard ‘Twin Valley’s Chardonnay, he adopts the same low intervention approach in winemaking. He hand-picks the fruit, whole bunch presses, running the must straight to barrel for a high solids fermentation by indigenous yeasts. Brian aims for freshness, so doesn’t employ much MLF and the wines spend around a year or so in barrel. The two wines express ‘a sense of place’ to Brian in various aspects, including the yeast populations involved and the source of the grapes. Here I review his latest releases, the ‘Marlborough’ 2012 and ‘Twin Valleys’ 2011 Chardonnays. www.mahiwine.co.nz