Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2022 ~ Martinborough, New Zealand

98/100 Bob Campbell, The Real Review (2020 vintage)
98/100 James Suckling (2020 vintage)
96/100 Falstaff
94/100 The Wine Front
93/100 CellarTracker
97/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit (2018 vintage)
96/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage)
96/100 Bob Campbell, The Real Review (2018 vintage)
96/100 Falstaff (2018 vintage)
Bronze - CellarTracker (2018 vintage)
94/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2018 vintage)
98/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage)
97/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2017 vintage)
96/100 Wine Enthusiast (2017 vintage)
96/100 Falstaff (2017 vintage)
96/100 Bob Campbell, The Real Review (2017 vintage)
95/100 The Wine Front (2017 vintage)
94/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit (2017 vintage)
93/100 Robert Parket, Wine Advocate (2017 vintage)
90/100 CellarTracker (2017 vintage)
98/100 Bob Campbell, The Real Review (2016 vintage)
98/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit (2016 vintage)
98/100 James Suckling (2016 vintage)
95/100 The Wine Front (2016 vintage)
95/100 Falstaff (2016 vintage)
94/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2016 vintage)
94/100 Robert Parket, Wine Advocate (2016 vintage)
92/100 Wine Enthusiast (2016 vintage)
91/100 CellarTracker (2016 vintage)
17/20 Jancis Robinson (2016 vintage)
Bronze - Wine & Spirit Magazine (2016 vintage)

Bob Campbell, The Real Review "Elegant, seamless pinot noir with fragrant, floral, red rose, dark cherry, anise, spice and restrained savoury and fresh herb characters. It's a complex medley of appealing flavours supported by an ethereal texture and a lingering finish. A surprisingly accessible wine from an excellent vintage."

James Suckling "A complex wine from the outset with gently reductive notes and modern oak spice threading into fresh cherry, spiced bread, rose, forest wood and blood orange, as well as darker cherry notes. The palate tells the full story. This displays real power and definition with clear-cut and powerful tannins. The intensity of the red-cherry fruit is impressive and the way it occupies the finish with length and uplift is the thing that defines great pinot noir per se. Strong vintage."

Falstaff "Really aromatic cranberry and redcurrant fruit with that gorgeous edge of white pepper. With air, the fruit almost gets a candied, heightened quality. On the palate, the fruit performs a veritable tight walk, between candied ripeness and utter freshness."

James Suckling "Aromas of red cherries, cedar, dry brown spices, forest berries and wood, as well as rose-like perfume. It opens and aromatically enriches with some air. The palate has all the trademark layering of smooth tannins and a smoothly ripe ball of fresh red cherries. Assertive drive to the finish." (2018 vintage)

Bob Campbell, The Real Review "Elegant, aromatic pinot noir with bright, high energy floral, violet, cherry, fresh herb, star anise and restrained spicy oak supported by fine tannins and juicy acidity. An attractively fragrant, supple wine that's a little lighter than usual but gives a nod in the direction of Burgundy and shows promising ageing potential." (2018 vintage)

Falstaff " subtle floral touch plays on the nose along with a sense of creamy red cherry fruit. With more air, that Martinborough savouriness comes through. There is a lovely grip, as if starched silk crunched tenderly. A seam of vivid freshness plays along that fine-boned tannic structure. It is that structure that allows that red fruit to shine, to radiate its aromatic freshness. There is such gorgeous, savoury length and such tenderness."

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Medium to full red colour with a tint of purple and a smoky, earthy, almost graphite-like aroma, broodingly complex and promising to unfold more. The wine is medium to full-bodied yet backed up by abundant firm tannins, the finish imparts a trace of cleansing bitterness and the grip helps carry the finish long. It's still emerging from its shell and promises more to come if cellared a couple of years." (2018 vintage)

James Suckling "Really pristine fruit aromas here with such pure, ripe red cherries and roses, as well as gently earthy and spicy nuances. Very fresh, precisely ripe and a pinot you can sit and just breathe in for days. The palate has a velvety layer that few others manage to find; silky at the core, succulent in the center and delivering such vibrant, red-cherry flavors in a long, pristine and fresh, red-cherry finish." (2017 vintage)

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Deep red/purple colour. The bouquet is at first reserved and shy with dominant dried herb, straw-bale and undergrowth aromas. Some cherry aromas began to emerge after extended airing. The wine emerged as full-bodied and strong, with abundant tannins. There is a core of sweet fruit within. It has only just begun building the fragrant bouquet that will almost certainly emerge in time. On day two: a glorious wine had blossomed, with a wonderful complexity of deep-set dark cherries, spices and dried herbs, adding up to a beguiling fragrance. The same flavours saturate the palate which is concentrated and profound, the tannins soft and ample, the persistence long. It all adds up to a prognosis of a long and rewarding life ahead." (2017 vintage)

Wine Enthusiast "From extremely low-yielding, organic vines, this flagship Pinot, which sees 30% whole bunch and a native yeast fermentation, is beautifully expressive. Complex, harmonious and elegant, it ripples with pristine, brambly fruit, dried flowers, spices, river stone minerality and a savory, meaty nuance. The palate is silky, with crystalline acidity and laced with fine, chalky tannins." (2017 vintage)

Falstaff "Rosehip, white pepper, lifted herbal, peppery savouriness on the nose. The palate literally reverberates with that intense, delicious pepperiness. It is alive with spice and shimmers with delicate redcurrant and cranberry fruit. This is delicate, poetic, vivid, elegant with such an elegant, fine-boned structures." (2017 vintage)

Bob Campbell, The Real Review "A Kiwi classic that lives up to it s lofty reputation despite a vintage that presented challenges. Supple, accessible wine with plum, dark berry, spice, anise, dried herb, savoury and spicy oak flavours. Complex with a fine, tannic backbone balanced against restrained fruit sweetness. Perhaps not quite as much power and density as usual but still offers good potential " (2017 vintage)

Robert Parket, Wine Advocate "Cool, slightly minty stem notes accent bright cherry fruit in the 2017 Pinot Noir, most of which was picked before the rains, according to winemaker Helen Masters. It's crisp and medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, refreshing finish. It may be even longer-lived than I've suggested." (2017 vintage)

Bob Campbell, The Real Review "Elegant, supple and very vibrant pinot noir, with seductively-layered floral, red rose, cherry, red fruits, dried herb and mixed spice flavours. Very long and linear wine that demonstrated real power delivered with great subtlety. A wonderfully pure pinot noir with a distinctive house/vineyard style and a proven ability to age graciously. " (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)

James Suckling "This has all the cherry and spice and perfume that defines this consistently stunning pinot noir, as well as a sense of immense freshness. The palate has deceptive lightness and tannins that are supple and caressing and that kick fresh and expansive out through the finish. Succulent and elegant. A great vintage for this wine." (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)

Falstaff "The nose is a mix of red berry and subtle raspberry leaf, it is all rather shy. The body is slender, translucent, vivid freshness and some plum skin tannins play off each other to give this some slight grip. There almost is a feeling of crushed gravel. The finish shines with red fruit and freshness." (2016 vintage)

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Very dark colour for pinot: deep red/purple, the bouquet shy and somewhat reticent, but clean and ripe. It developed a simple chaffy aroma as it aired. The wine is medium-bodied and firm, with some extractiveness in the tannins leaving a slightly bitter grippy finish. It's a wine of weight and grunt, but not a lot of charm or pinosity - yet. It needs cellaring." (2016 vintage)

Robert Parket, Wine Advocate "...features hints of sage leaves and minty stemminess, beautifully balanced by plush fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, with silkier tannins than the muscular 2015, giving it a lush, welcoming texture and a smooth, seamless finish redolent of tea and roses." (2016 vintage)

Wine Enthusiast "Like many of this renowned producer's wines, this is a bottle to take your time with. It changes with every pour, from bright cranberry and raspberry fruit to licorice; from dried roses and violets to sandalwood and savory spice. The palate is medium bodied and silky textured, with tightly wound, leathery tannins and fruit that feels like you could take a bite out of it. Through it all is Ata Rangi's signature mineral streak. For all its appeal, however, this wine is still a baby, elegant and complex but austere. (2016 vintage)

Organic wines are made from grapes grown without pesticides, following strict organic standards. Organic wines are produced in vineyards that do not use synthetic chemicals. Certified BioGro organic wines in New Zealand. 

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."

Ata Rangi, meaning "dawn sky" or "new beginning" is a small New Zealand winery with a big reputation for serious Pinot Noir. Located at the southern end of the North Island, it is owned and managed by a family trio - Clive Paton, his wife Phyll and his sister Alison.

Clive planted his first vines on a small, stony sheep paddock at the edge of the Martinborough village in 1980 as one of a handful of people who pioneered winegrowing in the area.

Crimson is a wine which was inspired by a love of New Zealand’s native ‘Christmas Trees’ the rata and pohutukawa trees. Sales of this wine support Project Crimson, a charitable conservation trust which plants and protects these trees. The Pinot Noir grapes for Crimson are produced from 10-20 year old Martinborough vines in Lismore, Waiora and Walnut Ridge blocks.The grapes were hand picked and 100% destemmed, keeping as much whole berry fruit as possible.

After four years of transition, Ata Rangi were certified in 2014 as fully organic.

New Zealand's earliest Pinot Noir vines have come of age, and are now producing some first-class wines.

Pinot Noir is the dominant red wine grape of Burgundy, now produced in wine regions all over the world, including western Germany, northern Italy, Chile, South Africa, Australia and, perhaps most notably, California, Oregon and New Zealand.

The essence of Pinot Noir wine is its aroma of strawberry and cherry (fresh red cherries in lighter wines and stewed black cherries in weightier examples), underpinned in the most complex examples by hints of forest floor. Well-built Pinot Noirs, particularly from warmer harvests, also exhibit notes of leather and violets, sometimes approaching the flavor spectrum of Syrah.