Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir 2022

Reviews

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit: 98/100. Stunning and captivating, the wine shows dark berry, warm spice, porcini, and toasted almond characters with an elegant floral overtone. The palate is equally enticing with outstanding concentration and depth, combined with silky flow and beautifully infused fine tannins, making it wonderfully structured with finesse and sophistication. Gorgeously proportioned and harmonious with a sustained, graceful finish. At its best: 2027 to 2042.

Emma Jenkins MW (at New Zealand Pinot Noir Vintage Report 2025 Tasting, 07 Oct 2025), Decanter: 96/100 & Top Pick. Dark, spicy nose, layered with blueberry, damson plum, raspberry, borage, forest floor and sweet hay, plus slightly smoky cinnamon, clove and cumin. Silky and flowing, with good energy and very fine, slightly sinewy tannins. Good depth and build. Supple and savoury with a nice sense of density at its core, though it’s a very elegant rather than ‘big’ wine. Youthful, with a promising future. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035

Stephen Wong MW (The Real Review): 96/100. & Wine of the Week NZBeautifully detailed dark red fruit sits amidst layers of highly complex, earthy savouriness. This mid-weight pinot is exquisitely balanced with a dynamic interplay of air-dried strawberries, oriental spice bazaar, exotic tropical fruit and medicinal herbs across its elegant, intricate palate. Finely etched acidity and sleek tannins provide tension and a persistent grip which draws attention to its remarkable length. Gentle waves of flavour reprise across the palate, displaying finesse, clarity and precision without being clinical. Not a blockbuster by any means and although approachable now, it will gracefully age in the long term by virtue of its balance and elegance. Ageing: now to 2045.

Cameron Douglas MS: 95/100.  & Best Wines Tasted 2025. The bouquet is an immediate signature of the Wairarapa, Martinborough and Ata Rangi. Scents of clay and stony brown soils layered between scents of dark red berry scents and barrel spices, fine lees and complexity that can only come from vine age, barrel selection and attention to detail winemaking. Flavours of drying strawberries and cherry flesh, savoury spice layers of clove and vanilla then an abundance of texture from fine polished tannins and acid line that coats the palate with flavour and complexity. A delicious wine to melt your palate into. Best from any day you choose as well as 2026 through 2036+.

Tasting Note

An amazingly fragrant nose of clove, cardamom and cinnamon lifts from the glass, which then further opens to more red notes of rosehip and grilled strawberry. More savoury notes of cranberry and orange peel spread through the palate. Full and smooth, the palate is velvety, balanced and buoyed by a fresh acidity that gives concentration and length. This is a satisfying and welcoming wine, open and playful now but with the usual thread of tannin and acid that makes these wines remarkable with age.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: red wine

Varietal: Pinot Noir

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.

Vineyards: Martinborough, New Zealand. The deep, lean, free-draining gravels of Martinborough, high wind run, low rainfall and exposure to the southern ocean means average pinot noir yields here are the lowest in the country. These factors, along with the significant age of the vines, contribute to the consistency of quality year after year and to the unique and distinctive sense of place. Made from only the oldest pinot noir plantings on the Martinborough Terrace, this wine represents the absolute best of the estate's vineyards.

Vintage: The season started well with no real frost damage and good canopy growth. Warm weather in October and November resulted in a good solid flowering. January was dry and very warm. Veraison started well around the 24th of January but stalled with the rain and cool weather that hit early February and continued throughout the month. Meticulous, slow hand-picking ensured that only the best fruit made it across the sorting table, ensuring that the fruit arrived at the fermenter in mint condition.

Winemaking: Made from only the oldest pinot noir plantings on the Martinborough Terrace. 40% whole bunch with the remainder destemmed, fermentation by indigenous yeasts. Total tank time 15-23 days. After pressing, complete malolactic ferment in oak. Aged for 11 months total in French oak (30% new), then blended and held for a further 8 months prior to bottling.

Cellaring potential: 2037+

Alcohol: 13.5% vol

Residual sugar: dry (<1 g/l)

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Closure: Screwcap

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