Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir 2021

Reviews

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit: 99/100. This is impeccably composed and seductively expressed, showing dark cherry, clove, thyme and cedar characters on the nose with a gorgeous floral overtone. The concentrated palate is plush yet poised and refined with fleshy texture and perfectly pitched tannins. The wine exhibits stunning depth with layers of delectable flavours and meticulously structured mouthfeel, leading to a totally captivating, sensual finish.

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 97/100.  Lively and vibrant red fruits of wild strawberries and red cherries followed by rose hips, ground spices and a touch of citrus zest. Medium-bodied, finely grained velvety tannins with a delightful acid backbone. Zesty and layered wine with beautiful balance and complexity. It’s already enjoyable but will age gracefully.

VINOUS - Rebecca Gibb MW: 97/100. The 2021 Pinot Noir definitely reflects vintage. Its good colour and abundance of gravelly tannins display the smaller berried, smaller vintage. Its bright fruit, intense concentration and plentiful acidity accompany primary red fruit flavour, with an impressive show of ample black tea leaf-like tannins. It’s a wine for the long haul that draws out to an extended finish.

Stephen Wong MW (The Real Review): 96/100. Deep crimson. A firm, upright nose with blackberry, violet minerality in a restricted but concentrated package. Not immediately exuberant but there is clearly a lot of innate power here. The palate is full-bodied, very structured from the start with both fruit and oak tannins giving texture and dimension to this impressively serious, mineral and very long wine. Very young currently (March 2024), it needs a few years to relax into itself but will be fantastic in time as the floral and blackberry flavours unfurl.

Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 95/100. The 2021 Pinot Noir is vibrant on the nose and totally precise and focused. The acid spools right from the front of the palate and has a mobile, agile way about it. The season may have had it’s challenges, but the wine is effortless, natural and shapely. It’s great. The 40% whole bunch here sits well within the red fruit and creates a capacious mid-palate without an impact of stalky flavour. Superb. A real pleasure to drink.

Tasting Note

A full fragrant nose of juniper, red cherries, strawberries, and plum meld with spice notes of cardamon and sumac. The palate concentration is exceptional, a hallmark of a small yielding year on the Martinborough Terrace. Buoyed by bright acidity and spice fragrance this is a very compelling release with finely coating tannins that extend the full length of the palate. The 2021 is an exciting wine to cellar as time will allow the more beguiling aromatic side to reveal itself to the full.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: red wine

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Vintage: Early season frosts and cool weather during the flowering period resulted in low bunch numbers that were open and small berried. As a result, 2021 is a small yielding year in terms of quantity but concentrated and seamless in terms of weight and tannin. Weather conditions for the rest of season were kind and enabled us to harvest clean, impeccable fruit with ripe seeds and bright acid.

Winemaking: Only the oldest parcels of fruit are used in this premium Pinot Noir. 40% whole bunch with the remainder destemmed, fermentation by indigenous yeasts. Total tank time 15- 23 days. After pressing, complete malolactic ferment in oak. 11 months total in French oak (30% new), then blended and held for further 8 months prior to bottling.

Cellaring potential: 2029+

Alcohol: 14.0% vol

Residual sugar: <1 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulfite

Closure: Screwcap

Serving: Serve Pinot Noir at 16 - 18°C, that is slightly cooler than a typical room temperature, to best enjoy the layers of aroma and flavour as the wine slowly warms in the glass. Decanting an hour or so before serving is worthwhile, especially for young and/or more structured wines.

Produced and bottled: Ata Rangi Vineyard, PO Box 43, Martinborough 5741, New Zealand

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