Mahi Wines

Mahi Wines was launched in 2001 by Brian and Nicola Bicknell, a husband and wife team who had spent more than a decade preparing the ground. Brian's path was unusually international for a New Zealand winemaker of his generation. After studying botany in Auckland he completed postgraduate oenology training in Australia, then chased vintages through Hungary, France, and ultimately Chile, where he became chief winemaker at the iconic Viña Errázuriz. He returned to Marlborough in 1996 to take the senior winemaker role at Michael Seresin's newly created Seresin Estate, quickly building a national reputation for textural, food-friendly wines. By 2001 he wanted to make wine entirely on his own terms, so he and Nicola founded Mahi while Brian continued at Seresin for another five years. He left Seresin in 2006, the same year the couple bought the historic Renwick winery building once occupied by Cellier Le Brun, giving Mahi a permanent home.

• Brian Bicknell trained as a botanist in Auckland before postgraduate oenology study in Australia
• Vintage experience across Hungary, France, and Chile, including chief winemaker role at Viña Errázuriz
• Returned to Marlborough in 1996 as senior winemaker at the newly founded Seresin Estate
• Mahi launched 2001 as a side project, then became Brian's sole focus from 2006
• Renwick winery purchased December 2006 in the former Cellier Le Brun facility

Mahi's central idea is that Marlborough is not one flavor but a patchwork of valleys, soils, and microclimates that deserve to be bottled separately. For the first four years every Mahi wine was a single-vineyard release, and the practice still defines the top of the range. The portfolio draws on a tight group of vineyards spread across the western Wairau Valley, including Boundary Farm on the southeastern edge of Blenheim, the cooler Twin Valleys site at the base of the Waihopai Valley, the Byrne vineyard at Conders Bend that supplied Mahi's first fruit in 2001, and additional sites such as Cook, Francis, Wadworth, and Ward Farm. Vineyards under Mahi's direct control are farmed organically, and several long-standing growers manage their blocks under sustainable or organic regimes. Most of the named-site fruit is hand picked, often over sorting tables, before going to the Renwick cellar.

• Single-vineyard releases for the first four vintages established the house identity
• Boundary Farm: high-clay hillside parcel east of Blenheim, source of the flagship Sauvignon Blanc
• Twin Valleys: cool site in the Waihopai Valley, source of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gewürztraminer
• Byrne vineyard at Conders Bend supplied Mahi's first fruit in 2001
• Estate-controlled vineyards farmed organically; long-term partnerships with sustainable growers

Mahi sits in the western Wairau Valley, the cooler interior end of Marlborough where the maritime influence of Cloudy Bay meets the rain shadow of the Richmond Range. Long sunshine hours, dry summers, and pronounced diurnal swings between warm days and cold nights preserve the high natural acidity and intense aromatics that define Marlborough whites. Soils across the Mahi network range from deep stony alluvium and free-draining river gravels on the valley floor to heavier clay and loess on the hillsides at Boundary Farm. Bicknell uses these contrasts deliberately: gravel sites push aromatic lift and tension, while clay sites add weight, savory depth, and slower ripening, giving the cellar a broad palette of textures to draw from.

• Wairau Valley climate combines warm sunny days with cold nights for high natural acidity
• Rain shadow of the Richmond Range yields dry growing seasons and ripe fruit
• Free-draining alluvial gravels on the valley floor contrast with clay and loess on hillsides
• Boundary Farm's high-clay soils produce denser, more structured Sauvignon Blanc
• Cooler western Wairau sub-zones extend hang time for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

The Mahi cellar philosophy is minimal intervention with maximum attention. Brian Bicknell aims for wines that are subtle on the front palate and long and elegant through the finish, not loud and tropical. Fermentations rely heavily on wild yeasts, particularly for the single-vineyard Sauvignon Blancs, which are barrel-fermented in seasoned oak rather than processed in stainless steel. He avoids press wine, uses bentonite-only fining, and keeps skin contact minimal to limit phenolic bitterness. Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are wild-fermented and aged in French oak, with judicious use of new wood. The entry-level Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc blends a tank-fermented core with a portion of wild barrel ferment for added texture and savory complexity, distinguishing it from the cleaner, more aromatic regional norm.

• Wild-yeast fermentation across the range, including barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc
• Single-vineyard Sauvignon Blancs aged in seasoned French oak for texture without overt oak flavor
• No press wine, bentonite-only fining, minimal skin contact to keep phenolics in check
• Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wild-fermented and aged in French oak with measured new-wood use
• Entry-level Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc includes a wild barrel-ferment portion for added complexity

Mahi's range is built around three tiers. The regional Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc anchors the portfolio and is the wine most international drinkers encounter first. Above it sit the single-vineyard whites, most notably the Boundary Farm Sauvignon Blanc and the Twin Valleys Chardonnay, both built for ageing and table use rather than aperitif sipping. Pinot Noir is produced as both a Marlborough cuvée and a single-vineyard expression, with Twin Valleys fruit forming the backbone of the higher-tier red. Pinot Gris and aromatic whites including Gewürztraminer round out the catalogue, and small parcels of sparkling wine and Riesling appear in selected vintages. Total production remains deliberately small, which keeps Mahi in the boutique tier of Marlborough producers despite its international visibility.

• Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc as the wide-distribution flagship
• Boundary Farm Sauvignon Blanc: single-vineyard, barrel-fermented, age-worthy
• Twin Valleys Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as the structured single-vineyard reds and whites
• Pinot Gris and aromatic whites including Gewürztraminer for textural breadth
• Small parcels of sparkling and Riesling appear in selected vintages