Six highly rated Pinot Noir 2017 from Ata Rangi, a famous winery in New Zealand's well known Martinborough wine-growing region.

99/100 Bob Campbell MW (2016 vintage)
98/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit (2016 vintage)
97/100 Nick Stock (2016 vintage)
94+/100 Gary Walsh, The Wine Front (2016 vintage)
19.5+/20 points Raymond Chan (2016 vintage)

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit "A symphonic offering, once again, exhibiting red/black cherry, mushroom, mixed spice and vanilla characters with nuances of black tea and floral on the nose. The palate is superbly structured and seductively expressed, offering lovely fruit purity together with sensual mouthfeel and savoury undertones. Perfectly proportioned and impeccably balanced, this is another super-star in the making." (2016 Vintage)

Bob Campbell MW "Very seductive pinot noir combining a sensual, silken texture with layers of complex fruit and savoury flavours. The wine has structure but it is deeply buried within a core of sweet fruit. Dark-fleshed plum, violet, cherry, spice and very subtle fresh herbs are among the more obvious flavours in this supremely complex wine. Outstanding!" (2016 Vintage)

Raymond Chan "Full, very dark, deep, ruby-red colour with youthful purple hues, a little lighter on the rim. The nose is elegantly concentrated with a deep, dense core of well-ripened dark-red cherry and berry fruit seamlessly melded with subtle dark-red florals, dark herbs, spices and oak elements, unfolding black-berried fruits. The aromatics are exceptionally harmonious and integrated, and the nose is quite complete. Medium-full bodied, the palate features rich and succulently sweet flavours of dark-red cherry and berry fruits along with black fruits lifted by dark-red and violet florals and subtle notes of dark herbs. Suggestions of spice and oak emerge. The flavours are beautifully precise, detailed and harmoniously balanced, and the mouthfeel very supple and fine-textured with flowery tannin extraction. The acidity is integrated and provides vitality for the refined core and line. The wine flows seamlessly to a long and sustained, complete finish. This is a beautifully rich and multi-layered and detailed Pinot Noir of precision and harmony, with succulently sweet fruit and refined structure, enabling accessibility, and showing completeness." (2016 Vintage)

Gary Walsh, The Wine Front "Rosy, dark cherry, ripe and fleshy, a slip of vanilla oak. Medium-bodied, a smattering of orange peel and blood orange juice, silky tannin, gentle warmth, and a bold and sappy finish. Personality plus." (2016 Vintage)

Dave Brookes, The Adelaide Review "Marking 30 years since Ata Rangi’s first wine, the 2015 Pinot Noir is an important release from the New Zealand winery that produces beautifully composed, seductive wines. Found Clive Paton and winemaker Helen Masters weave their magic here. Deeply coloured with just a flash of purple, the 2015 Pinot Noir is a beautifully fragrant wine. Appealing violet and jasmine notes provide a high-toned melody above the dark cherry baseline with hints of macerated strawberry, sous Bois, vanilla bean, game meats and gentle, spicy oak. This is a calm wine, very comfortable in its own skin. Nothing is protruding or vying for attention. Everything is in balance. The characters from the nose transpose neatly over onto the palate. There’s precision here, with a finely-honed line driven by a seam of acidity and silky tannins. It finishes long, pure and multi-layered in its complexity. Delicious" (2015 Vintage)

Nick Stock "A complex and giving wine that was born of a low-yielding, dry vintage, this is testament to the character of these older vines. The nose carries a deep-set spiciness in the cinnamon and baking spice spectrum with plenty of ripe red plum, some red cherry and spiced plum pastry, too. There are a greater savoury and spice emphasis this vintage. The palate has plenty of tannins, gently chewy and assertive, and it carries a core of tangy cherry pip-flavored fruit and nutty ripeness through the finish." (2015 Vintage)

Goeff Kelly "Ata Rangi is one of the founder vineyards, and arguably the most highly-regarded winery in the Martinborough (and Wairarapa district), perhaps because there have been no pompous claims about their wines – just constant, quiet attention to detail.”

Mathew Jukes "This stunning estate makes the most revered Pinot Noir in New Zealand.”

Lisa Perotti-Brown "…the long-serving, dedicated team behind Ata Rangi just go from strength to strength. Their Pinots have always been great and yet, even in a world where the Pinot benchmark gets higher every year, Ata Rangi is better than ever.”

Yvonne Lorkin “You’d be hard-pressed to find a list of ‘Best NZ Pinot Noir’ that does not feature Ata Rangi at the top of the list.”

Huon Hooke "When Ata Rangi started making wine and wanted to get a few runs on the board, they entered some of their wines in competitions. Different vintages of Ata Rangi Pinot Noir won the IWSC London Trophy in 1995, 1996 and 2001. The ten vintages of Ata Rangi Pinot Noir from 1996 each won gold medals and netted a total of seven trophies.

Ata Rangi no longer enters wine competitions, but the accolades continue. In 2010 Ata Rangi and Felton Road were both awarded the inaugural Tipuranga Teitei o Aotearoa or ‘Grand Cru of New Zealand’ by their peers. That’s a serious pat on the back.

Ata Rangi is a small, family-owned Martinborough winery with a big reputation, particularly for pinot noir. Their grape supply is from nearly 50 hectares of organically grown grapes from 14 small, close proximity vineyards on 30cm of shallow silt-loam on top of 25-metre deep alluvial gravels."

In 1980 Ata Rangi founder, Clive Paton planted his first vines, including the now legendary "gum-boot" clone of Pinot Noir, on a stony five hectare Martinborough paddock. Thirty years later,

Robert Parker writes "When I asked winemakers to name NZ’s greatest producers, one name kept coming up: Ata Rangi. Despite its success, which includes the flagship Pinot Noir being conferred with a Grand Cru honour, Ata Rangi remains family-owned and managed. Talented winemaker Helen Masters crafts the range of exceptional wines, allowing Clive more time for his extensive conservation efforts throughout New Zealand." After four years of transition, Ata Rangi was certified in 2014 as fully organic.

Martinborough is a wine-producing area in the southern part of New Zealand's North Island. The small town and surrounding district are home to around 1,500 residents and some of New Zealand's most highly respected boutique wineries.

Ata Rangi Wines