The Cloudy Bay winemaking team suggested doing the unthinkable in vintage 1991. Why not ferment some juice with indegenous yeast, completely wild microflora, untrained and uncultured? This was uncharted territory in New Zealand and only nature could decide the outcome. A few barrels were set aside for trial, the juices quickly fermented into a pungent brew. Unperturbed, the winemakers let nature take it's course until spring, when the ugly duckling had morphed into a savoury complex wine of great intensity and voluptuous mouthfeel.

Vinous Maximus, a wine of extraordinary complexity, treated to full malolactic, rich barrel ferments and extended lees autolysis. Parcels are harvested throughout the cool of night to preserve flavour, a mixture of whole bunches and de stemmed grapes are loaded directly to the fruit press. After settling for two or three days, juices are racked directly to French oak barrels and indulged by a slow, wild and natural fermentation through the action of indigenous yeasts. The primary fermentation, which takes until Christmas to complete, is closely followed by malolactic. Te Koko is subsequently left in barrel, on yeast lees until the following summer, when it is racked and lightly fined. Alcohol 13.8%