Moko Hills is a small Central Otago producer at Bendigo, farming free-draining schist soils under a dry, semi-continental climate well suited to Pinot Noir. Kakano is the earlier-drinking cuvee, guided by winemaker Claire Mulholland, whose CV spans Burn Cottage, Amisfield and Burgundy's Domaine Dujac. The 2024 season produced fragrant, moderately concentrated fruit; hand-picking and careful parcel selection underpin the wine. As a boutique project the farming is attentive and site-focused, aiming to capture immediate perfume and vibrancy rather than the density reserved for the Estate label, and to give a bright, mineral expression of the Bendigo site.

Made in a deliberately new-wave style: the fruit was fermented with 100% whole bunches using indigenous (wild) yeasts, encouraging perfume, fine spice and crunchy tannin. After fermentation the wine spent around twelve months in seasoned (older) French oak, which lends structure without overt oak flavour, and it was bottled completely unfined and unfiltered to preserve raw, site-specific detail. The approach keeps the wine bright and early-drinking, with a clean, mineral finish and vibrant red-fruit character rather than heavy extraction or new-oak influence.