2020 Ata Rangi, Pinot Noir, 6x750ml
Availability: In stock
Case size: 6 / Bottle size: 750ml
Duty Status
From £300.00
Critics Score: 98
Publication: Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review
Drinking Dates: 2023-2035
Concentrated, complex pinot noir with cassis, blackberry, dark cherry, violet, wood smoke and savoury/dried herb flavours. Accessible now but with a proven history of ageing gracefully. Elegant wine with impressive power
Producer
Ata Rangi, meaning ‘dawn sky, new beginning’ is owned and managed by a family trio – Clive Paton, his wife Phyll and his sister Alison. In 1980 Clive planted the bare, stony, home paddock at the edge of Martinborough, becoming one of a handful of people who pioneered grape growing in the area. Ata Rangi’s first vineyard covered less than five hectares on deep, free-draining alluvial gravels – the original course of a local river which flows from the hills that flank the eastern side of the valley. Today they are joined by a strong team including winemaker Helen Masters, who in 2019 was awarded New Zealand Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine, as recognition of her 16 years’ work at Ata Rangi.
Ata Rangi is renowned for its Pinot Noir and is widely regarded as New Zealand’s top Pinot Noir producer. They were awarded Five Stars in the ‘2019 Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification’ by Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer for the consistent gold medal standard of their wines. At the 2010 International Pinot Noir Conference, Ata Rangi Pinot Noir was one of two producers granted the title of ‘Tipuranga Teitei o Aotearoa’ (which translates from Māori as ‘Great Growth of New Zealand’ or ‘Grand Cru’), in recognition of their unique site and of the family’s commitment to evolving and developing New Zealand Pinot Noir. The oldest Pinot Noir vines, which include a clone allegedly smuggled from Burgundy, were planted in 1980.
Vineyards
Ata Rangi's vineyards are situated in Martinborough, in the Wairarapa region to the north of Wellington. Grapes are sourced from four plots: the Ata Rangi Home Block, Walnut Ridge, Champ Ali and Dimattina, which all lie on a thin layer of well-draining alluvial soil. Only the oldest and most revered parcels of fruit are used, which are 27 years old on average. The clonal make up of Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is unique to the region with the major portion being the Abel clone. This clone is later to flower and avoids some of the worst of the spring weather.
Vintage
2020 was a typical vintage for Ata Rangi. Despite a dry period between December and mid-March, the quality of the fruit was exceptional. Thanks to the dry conditions, when rainfall occurred during harvest, berries were free from fungal infection, without any incidence of botrytis or berry splitting. Harvest took place between 5th and 26th March 2020.
Vinification
Ata Rangi’s estate Pinot Noir is produced from their oldest vines on the Martinborough Terrace, sourced from six small vineyards located within 500 metres of the winery. The 2020 Pinot Noir was 40% whole bunch pressed and 60% destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts in tank. After pressing, the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation in oak barrels. It was aged for 11 months in French oak barrels, of which 35% was new. The wine was then blended and aged for a further eight months prior to bottling. The result is complex, elegant and classically Ata Rangi.
Ata Rangi, meaning ‘dawn sky, new beginning’ is owned and managed by a family trio – Clive Paton, his wife Phyll and his sister Alison. In 1980 Clive planted the bare, stony, home paddock at the edge of Martinborough, becoming one of a handful of people who pioneered grape growing in the area. Ata Rangi’s first vineyard covered less than five hectares on deep, free-draining alluvial gravels – the original course of a local river which flows from the hills that flank the eastern side of the valley. Today they are joined by a strong team including winemaker Helen Masters, who in 2019 was awarded New Zealand Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine, as recognition of her 16 years’ work at Ata Rangi.
Ata Rangi is renowned for its Pinot Noir and is widely regarded as New Zealand’s top Pinot Noir producer. They were awarded Five Stars in the ‘2019 Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification’ by Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer for the consistent gold medal standard of their wines. At the 2010 International Pinot Noir Conference, Ata Rangi Pinot Noir was one of two producers granted the title of ‘Tipuranga Teitei o Aotearoa’ (which translates from Māori as ‘Great Growth of New Zealand’ or ‘Grand Cru’), in recognition of their unique site and of the family’s commitment to evolving and developing New Zealand Pinot Noir. The oldest Pinot Noir vines, which include a clone allegedly smuggled from Burgundy, were planted in 1980.
Vineyards
Ata Rangi's vineyards are situated in Martinborough, in the Wairarapa region to the north of Wellington. Grapes are sourced from four plots: the Ata Rangi Home Block, Walnut Ridge, Champ Ali and Dimattina, which all lie on a thin layer of well-draining alluvial soil. Only the oldest and most revered parcels of fruit are used, which are 27 years old on average. The clonal make up of Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is unique to the region with the major portion being the Abel clone. This clone is later to flower and avoids some of the worst of the spring weather.
Vintage
2020 was a typical vintage for Ata Rangi. Despite a dry period between December and mid-March, the quality of the fruit was exceptional. Thanks to the dry conditions, when rainfall occurred during harvest, berries were free from fungal infection, without any incidence of botrytis or berry splitting. Harvest took place between 5th and 26th March 2020.
Vinification
Ata Rangi’s estate Pinot Noir is produced from their oldest vines on the Martinborough Terrace, sourced from six small vineyards located within 500 metres of the winery. The 2020 Pinot Noir was 40% whole bunch pressed and 60% destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts in tank. After pressing, the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation in oak barrels. It was aged for 11 months in French oak barrels, of which 35% was new. The wine was then blended and aged for a further eight months prior to bottling. The result is complex, elegant and classically Ata Rangi.
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