Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2011

Ata Rangi, meaning 'dawn sky' or 'new beginning', is a small, family-owned, organic winery in Martinborough that has a reputation for producing exceptional quality pinot noir. The Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is their flagship wine and is regarded by many to be one of the greatest pinot noirs that comes out of New Zealand.

"A very serious pinot that needs plenty of time to show its best. A highlight is its perfect ripeness, which gives great flavour."  Huon Hooke 

"Dark cherry/dark chocolate, damson plum, and a heady potpourri of rose petal and spice aromas lift from the glass, flow across the palate and right on through to the finish of this powerful 2011 Pinot Noir. Tannins are plentiful and fine, enhancing the full, fleshy texture. A warmer than average season has delivered excellent ripeness not only to the berries but also to grape stems and seeds, allowing us to include around 100% whole, intact bunches in the ferments. This technique, chosen only in warm seasons, allows a portion of ripe stem tannin to supplement the skin and seed tannins in bolstering a wine's shape and structure. Still young and firm, this brooding pinot will continue to open and develop into a more savoury expression of the variety over the coming years."  Ata Rangi

Expert reviews

"As always, the lesser seasons define the greatest estates. While many in New Zealand struggled in the warm 2011 vintage, Ata Rangi shone. Early seed ripening produced impressive structure, emphasised with 20 percent whole bunch fermentation, more than usual for Ata Rangi. The definition of black cherries, blackberries and violets is exemplary, framed in a tightly-honed and well-defined structure, with a coiled spring of tannin tension and refined mineral definition. Notes of liquorice and coal make this an intense Ata Rangi, though lacking nothing in poise and magnificence."  Tyson Stelzer, Wine Taste - 96 points 

"Full red colour with a good purple tint. Bright, clean, properly ripe red and dark cherry aromas; youthful and attractive. Slightly oaky and smoky. The palate is quite big and muscular, with a strong tannin grip and a touch of bitterness, which adds rather than detracts. Delicious palate flavour, and very good weight and structure. A very serious pinot that needs plenty of time to show its best. A highlight is its perfect ripeness, which gives great flavour. Drink 2014-2026."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 96 points

"A warm vintage, wet at the end of the growing season. Dark, deep, even, purple-hued ruby-red, very youthful in appearance. This is tightly bound and classically expressed with fine, primary dark red berry and cherry fruits, along with lifted aromatic floral perfumes, the nose beautifully pure. Very subtle nuances of spicy oak with suggestions of toast show the youth of the wine. Medium-bodied and elegantly concentrated, refined tannin extraction forms the core of the palate with tightly bound, dark cherry fruit and violet and dark red floral perfumes providing a gentle sweetness and lusciousness. Fresh, bright, lacy acidity lends vitality and the wine carries to a graceful, lingering finish. This is a beautiful, elegant and balanced wine with finesse and grace. A classical Ata Rangi wine. It will develop over the next 7-8+ years."  Raymond Chan – 19.0/20 points  ★★★★★

"Good pinot noir ruby, right in the middle for weight. From first opening, this wine is intensely fragrant, with rose, daphne and boronia florals grading into clear-cut cherry fruit, red cherry more than black, and thus contrasting with the Pisa wine. In the daphne component there is the slightest hint of pennyroyal, perhaps a tell-tale for a Martinborough source in blind tastings. In the mouth the pinot quality of the wine is superb, soft yet fresh even crisp red grading to black cherry, perfect oak shaping but in no way dominating the wine, and great length of fruit and flavour. The fruit lightens back to red-dominant in the aftertaste, which is very burgundian, and it seems drier than the seductive Greystone. And yet … that hint of mint just takes the wine out of Burgundy, so we must celebrate this as a great new world pinot noir. Is this the best Ata Rangi pinot noir yet? Cellar 3 – 8 years, maybe 10."  Geoff Kelly – 18.5+/20 points  ★★★★★

About martinborough

Martinborough is one of the three sub-regions of the Wairarapa wine region in the southern part of New Zealand's North Island. It is world renowned and by far the most important sub-region (the other two being Gadstone and Masterton), so is considered here to be a region to avoid confusion.

The small, picturesque town of Martinborough and its surrounding district are home to some of New Zealand's most highly respected boutique wineries. Martinborough lies in a wide river valley between the Rimutaka mountain range and the eastern Wairarapa hills. The Ruamahanga River meanders through the region on its way to Palliser Bay, 32 kilometres to the south. The first vines were planted here by James Busby in 1838 when he was sent from England to collect samples of all grape varieties for potential introduction into Australia (he found that European vines did not grow well in Australia, but thrived in New Zealand's climate conditions). However, it was not until the 1970s that it was discovered as a prime site for viticulture. In 1978, a scientific report compared the climate of the region with that of Burgundy in France, and a few pioneering vignerons began to buy land around Martinborough and plant it with vines.

The viticultural focal point of the region is the Martinborough Terrace – a raised plateau of alluvial gravel just north of the town that has been forced up over time by tectonic movement. The free-draining nature of this soil is excellent for viticulture because it limits the hydration of the vines, leading to stress. These stressed vines put their energy more into producing small, concentrated berries than leafy foliage, increasing the quality of the grapes and subsequently the wines. Similar soils extend around this small area, notably further east, in the unoffical Te Muna sub-region. Vineyards can also be found further south of Martinborough although this region tends to be cooler with a more mixed soil makeup, often with slightly higher levels of clay.

Despite the fact that Martinborough has only three percent of all of New Zealand's vineyard land, it is still widely considered to be one of the country's prime wine regions. Its claim to fame is the exceptional quality of its Pinot Noir wines, produced by some of the most highly regarded wineries in New Zealand.

"Martinborough's reputation for producing high quality pinot has been known for almost as long as the region's existence, but it's a reputation that has seen extraordinary growth in recent times. 'When I came here in 1986 there were only four wine producers,' says McKenna, who to many is recognised as one of the region's father figures. 'Three of them are amongst the best that are still here', referring to Martinborough Vineyard, Ata Rangi and Dry River. 'It's fair to say,' he continues, 'that the combination of vine age and producers' experience with the district has certainly equated to a gradual increase in quality.' The pursuit of excellence is always top of mind, to which Ata Rangi winemaker Helen Masters attests. 'If I need something done, there's no question about cost, time, effort,' she says. 'We just make it happen.' The irony, as any visitor to the region is bound to hear, is that Martinborough contributes just one per cent of New Zealand's annual grape crush but is home to 10 per cent of the country's winemakers. If that's not saying something about the quality of the wine, what is?

The wines here are centred on a few key varieties, but unlike many other regions, are almost impossible to pigeonhole. Everything from the flat, free-draining gravel vineyards of the Martinborough terrace to the denser stony clay soils of Te Muna Road, the heavy focus on terroir, vintage, or clonal selection, or all of the above, results in a wealth of wine styles that share the common ground of elegance and richness and speak loudly of time and place.

Pinot noir is by far the region's hero – which typically, thanks to the region's climatic similarities to Burgundy, produces beautiful medium-bodied wines with dark plum fruit flavours and distinct savoury characters – followed closely by luscious pinot gris and mineral-like sauvignon blanc, as well as chardonnay, riesling, gewürztraminer and syrah.

The township was established in the late 1870s by John Martin, an Irish landowner whose patriotism for home remains evident in the Union Jack-shaped town square. However, the region's modern wine industry wasn't established until a century later after soil scientist Dr Derek Milne conducted a report that yielded the resemblance-to-Burgundy results. He subsequently founded Martinborough Vineyard; others soon followed suit and those four or five founding producers spawned a progressive farming community that lives and breathes the 'wine is made in the vineyard' philosophy. It's a special place."  Dom Sweeney, Gourmet Traveller Wine

About the winery

Ata Rangi, meaning 'dawn sky' or 'new beginning', is a small, family-owned, organic winery in Martinborough that has a reputation for producing exceptional quality pinot noir. Ata Rangi was founded by Clive Paton in 1980. The first vines were planted on a small, stony sheep paddock at the edge of the Martinborough Village. Clive's sister Alison bought an adjoining block soon after and in 1986 Clive's partner Phyll Pattie bought a share in the business after moving from Marlborough where she had been working as a winemaker.

Today, 42 years on, Ata Rangi has an enviable reputation as one of the new world's most respected pinot noir producers. Alison Paton heads up the day-to-day running of the business, with Helen Masters crafting the wines aided by the vital stewardship of vineyard manager Braden Crosby.

Ata Rangi farms around 32 hectares, spread over 14 vineyards, that are clustered around the village of Martinborough. The sites feature the characteristic Martinborough Terrace profile of 300-600mm of shallow silt-loam overlaying 25-30 metre-deep alluvial gravels. The McCrone and Masters Vineyards are differentiated by a higher percentage of clay within the gravels.

Ata Rangi's home vineyards attained full organic status in 2014. Weeds are managed with under-vine weeding tools, with a combination of cultivation and mowing. The vineyards' biodiversity is enhanced by a mixture of native and exotic shelterbelts and inter-row wildflower planting that provide havens for native predatory and beneficial insects. Compost is made on-site from grape stalks, skins, and yeast lees, mixed with seaweed, forest floor duff and harvested green crops.  This mix is utilised in the vineyard to make compost tea for vine health and boost organic matter within the soil.

Fruit is drawn from a diverse range of vineyards, each managed to suit its soil and clonal diversity. This individualised care, alongside the age of the original vines which are now reaching 40 years old, are both major factors in the quality and consistency of the wines from year to year. Spring is often cool and windy which reduces fruit set, so yields are naturally low. Summer days are consistently warm, though nights are generally cool. Autumn is often long and dry, perfect for hand harvesting. 

The Ata Rangi winemaking philosophy is a simple, hands-off, traditional approach focused on finding the true expression of the place. They see wines from Martinborough as having real depth of palate with texture and length. They aim for balance in all their wines, so use winemaking practices such as whole bunch and barrel ageing to ensure that vineyard expression remains the hero.

Each season brings its own unique growing conditions. Cooler vintages express more herbal and spicy notes, whereas a warmer season delivers fuller fruit aromas. Staying true to the vintage means the wines will express these features. They focus on harvesting at the point where ripeness is "optimum” i.e where sugar, tannin and acid intersect at a "just on the cusp of ripeness”, and tension and vibrancy of aroma are balanced with tannins.

Whole bunch inclusion plays a role in the fermentations of the pinot noir — the level of which varies according to site and vine age, which can be from 20 to 100% with the remainder de-stemmed. The fermentation that takes place within the whole berry along with the contact with the stems, lifts the aromas and gives a fine flow to the tannins. 

Due to the close proximity to the South Pacific Ocean, the temperate climate results in an extended growing season, allowing the fruit to ripen slowly. This enables the tannins in the seeds and skin of the grapes to fully ripen. This is reflected in the Ata Rangi style,  a backbone of fine tannins, supported by vibrant acidity which gives a structure to the wines that afford them real age-ability.