Martinborough Pinot Noir

Nose of ripe red fruits plus black plum. Obvious whole bunch influence. Fruit influence has diminished a little since previous tasting but there was some fruit sweetness when tasting at the end of the.palate and the bottle. Kiwi expert Bob Campbell MW was very impressed and said “the best Ata Rangi I’ve tasted “ when he tasted it in June 2016.

My first of 6. Smells like a full bodied Pinot Noir. The palate is rich with a lovely fruit sweetness, cherry and plum, and again, a full bodied Pinot Noir with intensity. Ticks all the boxes. Texture and the tannins are silky. Enough acid and tannin to go another 8 to 10 years. 98 points from HH. Had a 2nd bottle 25 weeks later on 14th September with similar notes. Aromatic red cherries still with that lovely fruit sweetness. Seductive mouth feel.

Medium ruby, medium- intensity aromas red fruits cherry fig pips, tobacco. Dry with medium+ acidity medium alcohol and medium + fine tannins. On the palate lots of cranberries and sage and ash. A bit one dimensional and lacking complexity.

Red and black fruits - cherry. Generally muted on the nose, even the following day. A big Pinot on the palate - it needed to be with curried prawns with plenty of heat. The following day similar notes - a good accompaniment to strong flavoured foods. Medium + savoury notes on the palate , yet to fully blossom, with fine Sandy tannins. A couple more years in the cellar would be beneficial. 99 points from Kiwi wine scribe, Bob Campbell MW.

A serious Pinot after the frivolous fresh young uncomplicated Pinot from Bloody Hill (Mayer) in the Yarra Valley. Quite bold with strong red and black fruits of cherry strawberry and raspberry together with earthy mushroom like notes. Finishes with fine powdery tannins. An interesting back story to the origins of the Malcolm vineyard where cuttings from one of “Burgundy’s finest estates “ believed to be in Vosne Romanee were illegally brought from France. Now known as the Abel clone. See full story on the Ata Rangi website.

Dense dark Ruby in colour. Red berry perfume with Sous Bois. Medium plus bodied with rich cherry and red berry flavours. Somewhat closed and constrained - yet to spread its wings and reveal its full potential.

At the Downs. Club magnum dinner on Wednesday night. A very rich Pinot Noir and one of New Zealand’s finest. A bit closed - needs a lot of swirling. A medium to full bodied palate. Tannins are a little coarse and grainy but I put that down to its youth. Too young to be drinking this particularly from magnum. Should be great in 10 years time. 99 points from James Suckling.

Very spicy initially on the nose. On the light to medium weight palate some savoury earthy notes but essentially black cherry. Very good and obviously new world. Always one of the best Pinots in New Zealand from Martinborough. This is delicious and fruit driven with integrated oak. Drinking well in its middle age with some years to go. Tasted another bottle 36 weeks later on 6th March 2022 with similar notes. Ripe black cherry aromas. Medium to full bodied tasting more like Central Otago rather than Martinborough. Opulent and mouth filling. Have the 2nd last in late 2023.

Expressive nose of red sour cherries, candy, yeast, clean, maybe lacking a bit of complexity for the price. Guess I should have waited longer for this 2017 drunk in 2021

Ripe red fruits with cherry to the fore. Also spice and a hint of ginger - smoky. A light to medium bodied palate finishing with ultra fine grained tannins. To be honest not as impressive as I was expecting. This wine seems to be between youthful exuberance but not yet gaining complexity. I did have one a few years ago brought by a friend which was delicious. Try the next in a year or so.