Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2006

Robert Parker 91
"The 2006 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir (tasted twice) includes fruit from some of the 27-year-old home block vines and was matured for 12 months using 25% new oak. It displays a vibrant, slightly leafy nose with cranberry and a touch of forest floor, the palate -economical- i.e. no frills, but clean, crisp, vibrant fruit; brilliant focus with supreme poise on the finish. It gains intensity in the glass, a mercurial Pinot Noir as compelling as many a top Burgundy."

"When I asked winemakers to name New Zealand's greatest producers, one name kept coming up: Ata Rangi (meaning -new beginning-.) It was founded in 1980 by pioneering winemaker Clive Paton when he planted his first vines on a free-draining gravel terrace just outside Martinborough village. Paton was joined by Malcolm Abel two years later. Malcolm tragically died after one year and the vineyard was lost to urban development, but he had given Clive cuttings supposedly from none other than DRC and this -Abel Clone- is the basis of Ata Rangi's Pinot Noir (along with Clone 5 and Pommard clones). Head winemaker since November 2003 is Helen Masters, who oversees their own vineyards of approximately 30 hectares sourced under leased contracts. This was a superlative array of wines." ~Neal Martin