Producer · Marlborough, New Zealand

Blanc Canvas

Blank Canvas is a small Marlborough project focused on single-site wines from carefully chosen plots. One of the sites they work with is the Escaroth vineyard in Taylor Pass, a north-facing, dry-farmed slope planted in 2001 without irrigation, which is genuinely unusual in Marlborough. The large swings between day and night temperatures in this sub-region keep the fruit bright and the wines structured.

Taylor Pass, in Marlborough's Southern Valleys, sits apart from the better-known Wairau valley floor, and the results show it. Their Pinot Noir has proper weight and tension, rather than the easy-drinking style more commonly associated with the region.

Winery at Blenheim, Marlborough · Pinot Noir · £37.95 a bottle