Ata Rangi, Martinborough Pinot Noir

Ata Rangi, meaning ‘dawn sky, new beginning’ is owned and managed by Clive Paton, his wife Phyll and his sister Alison. In 1980 Clive planted their bare, stony, home paddock at the edge of Martinborough, becoming one of just a handful of people pioneering grape growing in the area. Ata Rangi’s first vineyard covered less than five hectares of vines, planted on deep, free-draining alluvial gravels that mark the original course of a local river that flows from the hills flanking the valley's eastern side. 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, in recognition of her 16 years working at Ata Rangi.

Ata Rangi is renowned for its Pinot Noir and is widely regarded to be among New Zealand’s top Pinot Noir producers. They were awarded Five Stars in the ‘2019 Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification’ by Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer, for their wines' consistent gold medal standard. 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. Their oldest Pinot Noir vines, which include a clone allegedly smuggled over from Burgundy, were planted in 1980.

The fabled Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is textural, deep and seamlessly balanced. Made from the estate’s oldest parcels planted 42 years ago, it has long been the standard bearer for Martinborough Pinot Noir. ‘McCrone’, ‘Kotinga’ and ‘Masters’ are three single-vineyard Pinot Noirs made by Ata Rangi in tiny quantities. Though made similarly, they offer three distinct, site-specific expressions of this famed grape. The ‘McCrone’ Pinot Noir, sourced from vines planted in 2001 using a mix of clones, is planted just around the corner from Ata Rangi’s home block. Its remarkably different soil composition, with a compact clay seam, produces a silkier wine than the classic, textural style of Martinborough Pinot Noir. The ‘Kotinga’ Pinot Noir is aged in 2280 litre foudre to enhance the bright crunchy qualities of the Dijon clones grown on this site’s free-draining alluvial gravels. The ‘Masters’ vineyard is owned and farmed by Ata Rangi winemaker Helen Masters and her family. As the most southerly of the Ata Rangi sites, it is generally harvested around one to two weeks later than the other vineyards. Ground spice complements the fresh red berry aromas and flavours of this wine, which is elegant, layered and dynamic with fine tannins and supple acidity.

Ata Rangi’s ‘Crimson’ Pinot Noir, produced from vines aged between 5 and 25 years, is inspired by a love of New Zealand’s native ‘Christmas trees,’ the red blooming Rata and Pohutukawa. Sales of this wine support Project Crimson, a charitable conservation trust which plants and protects these trees across the country. Clive is an avid conservationist, planting more than 70,000 native trees at Ata Rangi’s ‘bush block,’ 20 minutes south of Martinborough. In 2012 Clive was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his contribution to both viticulture and conservation in New Zealand.