-
98
/ 100
Nick Stock -
97
/ 100
Bob Campbell MW -
96
/ 100
Huon Hooke -
95+
/ 100
Mike Bennie -
19.5
/ 20
Raymond Chan Wine Reviews
Red
Classification
Pinot Noir
Variety
2013
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
New Zealand
Country
Martinborough,
Region
13.5%
Alcohol %
15 Plus Years
Cellaring
Scores
98 / 100"2013's season has been described as the best in three decades, and the vines of Ata Rangi's signature wine, now up to 35 years old themselves, have responded magnificently. Long, warm days and correspondingly cool nights cemented the fineness of tannins, and added brightness and tension to the acidity. Enticing floral aromas of star anise, crushed red rose, violets and succulent raspberry meld with savoury notes of sandalwood and orris root. Tension and vibrancy on the entry, with a compelling mid palate of fine layered tannins flowing through to a seamless, mineral quality on the finish. A masterpiece. Commanding and seductive pinot noir at its finest."
- Nick Stock
97 / 100
"Intense and potentially complex wine that is firmly structured and built for the long haul. Clearly a great wine from a great Pinot Noir producer although it really deserves to be cellared for at least a couple of years, preferably more. It was a stand-out wine when tasted in a vertical lineup. A classic mix of red-fleshed plum, dark berry and classy oak with the Ata Rangi trademark savoury character. Drink: 2015–2028."
- Bob Campbell MW
96 / 100
"Good depth and hue of colour; rich, sweet, very ripe black cherry pinot aromas, exuberant and generous. The same flavours are ample, almost opulent, on the palate. A gorgeous, succulent, easy-to-love pinot. Drink: 2017–2028"
- Huon Hooke
95+ / 100
"Reserved bouquet of just-ripe red berry fruits and rose petals with whiffs of graphite, wet slate, clove. Exotic pot pourri – great scent. Immediately wonderful with stern, coiled textural feel chaperoned by stony tannins and driving long, energetically, and fluid, with crisp red fruit character and a dried herb/garrigue complexity. Finishes mouthwatering and with a lick of sweetness and spice. Pretty epic."
- Mike Bennie
19.5 / 20
"Dark ruby-red. Beautifully ripened dark red berry fruits and subtle, interwoven and harmonious complexing detail. Density, depth, brooding somewhat, with clear potential. Rich and plush on the palate, with concentration. Layers of flavour built in, and unfolding slowly to reveal complex detail. Yet integrated and complete. Beautifully structured, and in total balance, and a fine acid and tannin line. Very long and succulent. Complete and immensely pleasing. Abel, 5, Dijon and 10/5 clones, indigenous yeast ferment with 30% whole clusters, 11 months in 35% new French oak."
- Raymond Chan Wine Reviews
Tasting Notes
The highly sought-after Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is undoubtedly one of the great new world Pinots to rival top Burgundy with only limited stock available.
The nose is elegantly concentrated with a deep, dense core of well-ripened dark-red cherry and berry fruit seamlessly melded with subtle dark-red florals, dark herbs, spices and oak elements, unfolding black-berried fruits. The aromatics are exceptionally harmonious and integrated, and the nose is quite complete. Medium-full bodied, the palate features rich and succulently sweet flavours of dark-red cherry and berry fruits along with black fruits lifted by dark-red and violet florals and subtle notes of dark herbs. Suggestions of spice and oak emerge. The flavours are beautifully precise, detailed and harmoniously balanced, and the mouthfeel very supple and fine-textured with flowery tannin extraction. The acidity is integrated and provides vitality for the refined core and line. The wine flows seamlessly to a long and sustained, com
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity