94/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell 94/100 The Real Review, Huon Hooke 93/100 James Suckling 94/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell (2018 vintage) 94/100 The Real Review, Huon Hooke (2018 vintage) 93/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage) 92/100 Falstaff (2018 vintage) 91/100 Robert Parker (2018 vintage) 91/100 Decanter (2018 vintage) 91/100 Wine Enthusiast (2018 vintage) 90/100 CellarTracker (2018 vintage) 93/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage) 93/100 The Wine Front (2017 vintage) 92/100 The Real Review, Huon Hooke (2017 vintage) 91/100 Wine Enthusiast (2017 vintage) 90/100 Robert Parker (2017 vintage) Bronze - CellarTracker (2017 vintage)
Organic
The Real Review, Bob Campbell "Ata Rangi's second-label pinot noir made from grapes grown on younger vines than their flagship wine. It is sporting a new label showing a stylised Pohutukawa flower. Seamless, stylish pinot noir with savoury, dried herb, spice, cherry, floral and violet flavours. Deliciously approachable now but should develop well, at least in the medium-term."
The Real Review, Huon Hooke "Medium to deep red colour with a rim of purple and a foresty bouquet that suggests substantial whole-bunch fermentation. The wine is intense and quite structured, with quite a full-body, the tannins imparting a degree of bitterness to the finish and follow-through. The bouquet is charming and captivating, the palate should follow on if given a little more time. It already drinks well with food."
James Suckling "A very attractive Crimson with bright red cherries and perfume, as well as a sappy edge that adds further interest. Plenty of spice, too. The palate has a very supple and elegant feel with a plush and fresh core of spicy red cherries and plums. Bright, vibrant and gently creamy. "
The Real Review, Bob Campbell "Aromatic pinot noir with an appealing mix of cherry, plum, mint, dried herbs, and spicy and stemmy flavours. A supple, attractive wine that's perhaps not as concentrated as its distinguished stable mate, but represents excellent value at this price. A wine of character and class." (2018 vintage)
The Real Review, Huon Hooke " Deep colour with a touch of development; reserved, earthbound aromas, herbs, dark fruits, while the palate has depth and structure. Abundant slightly sappy tannins which leave a slight bitterness, quite acceptable. Deep set raspberry and dark cherry, almost blackberry flavors. This would take some age well. Serious Pinot." (2018 vintage)
James Suckling "There’s so much to this wine. It is a pinot that really speaks of quality tannin, fresh and quite concentrated fruit flavors and a layered, succulent, fleshy and rich, dark-cherry finish. One of the best value wines on the planet, hands down!" (2018 vintage)
Falstaff "Strong crimson garnet, subtle ocher edge, broader edge lightening. Dark wild berries, a hint of preserved cherries and cranberries, candied orange zest, a hint of dried herbs, dark minerality. Medium body, red berries, freshly structured, present tannins. Salty aftertaste, a delicately spicy food wine" (2018 vintage)
Robert Parker "The 2018 Crimson Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from vines up to about 20 years of age. Originally, it was a fruit-forward, young-vines cuvée, but this vintage is cut from sturdier cloth, showing some serious tannins on the finish. It's pretty and perfumed up front, with scents of roses and berry tea, adding raspberries and cherries on the medium-bodied, structured palate." (2018 vintage)
Decanter "It’s tempting to recommend the superb Ata Rangi Pinot Noir, or the now dormant Craighall Chardonnay (the virused block is being replanted); even the Te Wa Sauvignon Blanc is impressive for the category. But this more affordable Pinot is a real showcase for both this organic winery and Wairarapa as a whole, boasting a glorious aroma of pomegranate and rose, rounded off with lovely cherry fruit on a supple palate." (2018 vintage)
Wine Enthusiast "Like the name itself, this wine is vibrant crimson in color. There's a slight reductive funk on the nose, but this blows off quickly in the glass, replaced by bright red fruit, crushed violet, and minerals, all backed by something more savory and stalky, like soy sauce and cinnamon stick. In the mouth it's light and lithe, crunching with fresh fruit and saline notes through to the finish, and wound tightly by powdery tannins. Simultaneously serious yet approachable." (2018 vintage)
James Suckling "This delivers pristine red florals, lightly peppery notes and an array of beautifully pure, deep red-cherry aromas, as well as spiced pastry notes. The palate has lively, luscious and vibrant red-cherry flavors, framed in fine, crisp tannins. Exceptional value. (2017 vintage)
The Real Review, Huon Hooke "Deep red with a good tint of purple, the bouquet slightly closed, shy and savoury, with latent cherry and earthy, foresty aromas, seemingly unevolved and needing time to fully emerge. The palate is quite firm and solid, with a vein of bitterness from the tannin extraction - which seems part of this label's established style. It's quite structured. Lovely dark-cherry fruit aromas emerge with plenty of swirling." (2017 vintage)
Wine Enthusiast "The 2017 vintage of this wine shows none of the reduction of the previous one. Straight off the bat there are fragrances of rhubarb and red currant, florals, an array of baking spices, a forest floor earthiness and wet stone minerality. The silky palate is finely structured with the savory sinewy tannins Martinborough is known for, wound around crunchy fruit. It feels like a rainy day in autumn. " (2017 vintage)
Robert Parker "Slightly herbal and tomato-scented, the 2017 Crimson Pinot Noir still offers up enough sous-bois and cherry flavors to remain intriguing. A bit of bacon-tinged oak comes through on the medium-bodied palate, joining silky tannins on the finish. For a "second wine," this offers uncommon complexity, even if it doesn't show the concentration of Ata Rangi's top bottlings." (2017 vintage)
Matthew Jukes "This stunning estate makes the most revered Pinot Noir in New Zealand"
Lisa Perrotti-Brown eRobertParker.com "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."
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, 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.
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.
94/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell 94/100 The Real Review, Huon Hooke 93/100 James Suckling 94/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell (2018 vintage) 94/100 The Real Review, Huon Hooke (2018 vintage) 93/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage) 92/100 Falstaff (2018 vintage) 91/100 Robert Parker (2018 vintage) 91/100 Decanter (2018 vintage) 91/100 Wine Enthusiast (2018 vintage) 90/100 CellarTracker (2018 vintage) 93/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage) 93/100 The Wine Front (2017 vintage) 92/100 The Real Review, Huon Hooke (2017 vintage) 91/100 Wine Enthusiast (2017 vintage) 90/100 Robert Parker (2017 vintage) Bronze - CellarTracker (2017 vintage)
Organic
The Real Review, Bob Campbell "Ata Rangi's second-label pinot noir made from grapes grown on younger vines than their flagship wine. It is sporting a new label showing a stylised Pohutukawa flower. Seamless, stylish pinot noir with savoury, dried herb, spice, cherry, floral and violet flavours. Deliciously approachable now but should develop well, at least in the medium-term."
The Real Review, Huon Hooke "Medium to deep red colour with a rim of purple and a foresty bouquet that suggests substantial whole-bunch fermentation. The wine is intense and quite structured, with quite a full-body, the tannins imparting a degree of bitterness to the finish and follow-through. The bouquet is charming and captivating, the palate should follow on if given a little more time. It already drinks well with food."
James Suckling "A very attractive Crimson with bright red cherries and perfume, as well as a sappy edge that adds further interest. Plenty of spice, too. The palate has a very supple and elegant feel with a plush and fresh core of spicy red cherries and plums. Bright, vibrant and gently creamy. "
The Real Review, Bob Campbell "Aromatic pinot noir with an appealing mix of cherry, plum, mint, dried herbs, and spicy and stemmy flavours. A supple, attractive wine that's perhaps not as concentrated as its distinguished stable mate, but represents excellent value at this price. A wine of character and class." (2018 vintage)
The Real Review, Huon Hooke " Deep colour with a touch of development; reserved, earthbound aromas, herbs, dark fruits, while the palate has depth and structure. Abundant slightly sappy tannins which leave a slight bitterness, quite acceptable. Deep set raspberry and dark cherry, almost blackberry flavors. This would take some age well. Serious Pinot." (2018 vintage)
James Suckling "There’s so much to this wine. It is a pinot that really speaks of quality tannin, fresh and quite concentrated fruit flavors and a layered, succulent, fleshy and rich, dark-cherry finish. One of the best value wines on the planet, hands down!" (2018 vintage)
Falstaff "Strong crimson garnet, subtle ocher edge, broader edge lightening. Dark wild berries, a hint of preserved cherries and cranberries, candied orange zest, a hint of dried herbs, dark minerality. Medium body, red berries, freshly structured, present tannins. Salty aftertaste, a delicately spicy food wine" (2018 vintage)
Robert Parker "The 2018 Crimson Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from vines up to about 20 years of age. Originally, it was a fruit-forward, young-vines cuvée, but this vintage is cut from sturdier cloth, showing some serious tannins on the finish. It's pretty and perfumed up front, with scents of roses and berry tea, adding raspberries and cherries on the medium-bodied, structured palate." (2018 vintage)
Decanter "It’s tempting to recommend the superb Ata Rangi Pinot Noir, or the now dormant Craighall Chardonnay (the virused block is being replanted); even the Te Wa Sauvignon Blanc is impressive for the category. But this more affordable Pinot is a real showcase for both this organic winery and Wairarapa as a whole, boasting a glorious aroma of pomegranate and rose, rounded off with lovely cherry fruit on a supple palate." (2018 vintage)
Wine Enthusiast "Like the name itself, this wine is vibrant crimson in color. There's a slight reductive funk on the nose, but this blows off quickly in the glass, replaced by bright red fruit, crushed violet, and minerals, all backed by something more savory and stalky, like soy sauce and cinnamon stick. In the mouth it's light and lithe, crunching with fresh fruit and saline notes through to the finish, and wound tightly by powdery tannins. Simultaneously serious yet approachable." (2018 vintage)
James Suckling "This delivers pristine red florals, lightly peppery notes and an array of beautifully pure, deep red-cherry aromas, as well as spiced pastry notes. The palate has lively, luscious and vibrant red-cherry flavors, framed in fine, crisp tannins. Exceptional value. (2017 vintage)
The Real Review, Huon Hooke "Deep red with a good tint of purple, the bouquet slightly closed, shy and savoury, with latent cherry and earthy, foresty aromas, seemingly unevolved and needing time to fully emerge. The palate is quite firm and solid, with a vein of bitterness from the tannin extraction - which seems part of this label's established style. It's quite structured. Lovely dark-cherry fruit aromas emerge with plenty of swirling." (2017 vintage)
Wine Enthusiast "The 2017 vintage of this wine shows none of the reduction of the previous one. Straight off the bat there are fragrances of rhubarb and red currant, florals, an array of baking spices, a forest floor earthiness and wet stone minerality. The silky palate is finely structured with the savory sinewy tannins Martinborough is known for, wound around crunchy fruit. It feels like a rainy day in autumn. " (2017 vintage)
Robert Parker "Slightly herbal and tomato-scented, the 2017 Crimson Pinot Noir still offers up enough sous-bois and cherry flavors to remain intriguing. A bit of bacon-tinged oak comes through on the medium-bodied palate, joining silky tannins on the finish. For a "second wine," this offers uncommon complexity, even if it doesn't show the concentration of Ata Rangi's top bottlings." (2017 vintage)
Matthew Jukes "This stunning estate makes the most revered Pinot Noir in New Zealand"
Lisa Perrotti-Brown eRobertParker.com "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."
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, 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.
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.
