This is, unashamedly, not your usual Kiwi Pinot Noir. Instead, this is a wine that is very much alive - it's meaty, slightly wild and wonderfully expressive natural wine made with zero additions and lots of love. Cherry, five spice, a bit of cinnamon and dried leaves with a lovely full cherry meatiness, despite being only just medium-bodied.

Deep Down is the Marlborough wine project of Clive Dougall (ex-Seresin winemaker and viticulturist) and Peter Lorimer (Kiwi wine promoter and distributor), who mortgaged their houses and threw it all in to make Deep Down Wines. They made just 1500 dozen wines in 2019, and have slowly grown to what is now a tight range of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay & Pinot Noir that have a sense of wildness and expression which is rare for the typically straight-laced Marlborough. Notably, all these wines are made from organically grown grapes, with minimal handling and typically low or no sulphur additions, again something out of step for this part of NZ where natural wines are a dirty word. Kudos Clive and Peter, for having a red hot go and delivering us some very distinctive Kiwi wines.