2017 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir Martinborough

The bouquet is at first reserved and shy with dominant dried herb, straw-bale and undergrowth aromas. Some cherry aromas began to emerge after extended airing. The wine emerged as full-bodied and strong, with abundant tannins. There is a core of sweet fruit within. It has only just begun building the fragrant bouquet that will almost certainly emerge in time. On day two: a glorious wine had blossomed, with a wonderful complexity of deep-set dark cherries, spices and dried herbs, adding up to a beguiling fragrance. The same flavours saturate the palate which is concentrated and profound, the tannins soft and ample, the persistence long. It all adds up to a prognosis of a long and rewarding life ahead. (HH)

From extremely low-yielding, organic vines, this flagship Pinot, which sees 30% whole bunch and a native yeast fermentation, is beautifully expressive. Complex, harmonious and elegant, it ripples with pristine, brambly fruit, dried florals, spices, river stone minerality and a savory, meaty nuance. The palate is silky with crystalline acidity, laced with fine, chalky tannins. Still a baby, this needs a decanter to drink now but will age well through 2040. *Ranked #31 in Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2020* (CP)

For everyone who spent much of the last year under a state of semi-quarantine, let me share a story involving a "quarantine" with a happy ending. Back in the late 1970s, a customs inspector in New Zealand named Malcom Abel stopped a fellow who'd arrived from France and confiscated several healthy Burgundian Pinot Noir cuttings (apparently taken from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti!) hidden in the man's gumboots. As a modest grower himself, Abel wisely placed them under quarantine instead of destroying them. He then propagated the cuttings, and they later ended up at Ata Rangi as the much-heralded "Abel clone." Fortunately, you do not need to quarantine this bottle, as it already seduces with irresistible fragrances of wild cherry, rhubarb, and pomegranate, unraveling a complex palate of rose petal, black tea, cherry tobacco, and Asian spices. Framed by suave tannins and seamless acidity, this is an incredibly elegant, benchmark Martinborough Pinot that rivals many Burgundian bottles at twice the price.