The tasting was held at MG Garage in Sydney and hosted by winemakers Clive Paton and Oliver Masters.
Martinborough is generally regarded as having an ideal climate for growing pinot, with a marked diurnal temperature range that delivers optimal ripeness and Ata Rangi is located on a 20 metre deep, free-draining shingle terrace.
Predominant Clones include the Abel/Ata Rangi clone ( smuggled from France in the late 70's), Pommard, and the new Dijon clones (115,116,667 and 777), it was interesting to see that they do not favour the clones 10/5 and 2/10, which are grown a lot in the South Island. Trellising systems include Scott Henry and V.S.P. and incorporate a variey of planting densities.
The tanks are 5 tonne, semi-closed fermenters, with larger than normal top manholes, which allow for hand plunging and for the ferment to be closed off at the beginning (typically a cold soak for 4-5 days) and the end of the fermentation.
Malo ferments are in barrel and the wines are inoculated with malo-lactic bacteria but is not inoculated with yeast, with the wine-makers preferring indigenous yeast ferments.
Right the wines......after quickly calibrating our palates, with a schooner at the pub next door, we got stuck into it.
1994 Ata Rangi Pinot
A lovely wine...Sour cherry, meaty, gamey, with rich christmas cake characters on the nose and palate. Olly mentioned that the fruit sweetness was at it's peak a few years ago and although the fruit is in decline, the 94 was amazingly complex with earthy, velvety tannins holding the wine together well....one of my favourites.
1995 Ata Rangi Pinot
A difficult year, with late rain and botrytis kicking in towards the end of the vinatge. The 95 had soft, fragrant berry fruit and forest floor characters, a bit leaner and more closed than the 94, though the fruit was sweet and it had a nice well balanced finish.
1996 Ata Rangi Pinot
Rich fruit on the nose with gamey, fungal characters.Tightly structured with rich, ripe plum and cherry fruit on the palate. Tannins quite firm for the age of the wine...drinking beautifully now. Another one of my favourites.
1997 Ata Rangi Pinot
This wine was from a magnum, so a little under-developed when compared to the wines either side of it. Funky farmyard, mushroom and gamey characters on the nose with herbal/sour cherry notes on the palate. A slight green thread ran through this wine, but it had lovely sweet fruit, which will allow the wine to age for some time to come.
1998 Ata Rangi Pinot
This wine was a whopper...from a drought year...and a few people noted it had an almost nebbiolo-like quality. Dark stone fruit, chocolate and tar on the nose. BIG mouthfeel, sweet fruit and gamey characters on the palate nice grippy finish and excellent length.
1999 Ata Rangi Pinot
The most attractive nose of any wine on the night. Fantastic sweet fragrant and multi-layered with red fruits and cherrys with some floral notes. Awesome mouthfeel with fat, ripe fruit and christmas cake spice....silky and opulant with fine ripe tannins...this was my favourite wine of the tasting.
2000 Ata Rangi Pinot
Clive says this wine is one of the best vintages they have had at Ata Rangi. Tightly structured with a rich, plummy, chocolatey nose with floral notes. Again, fantastic weight, elegant, sinewy and taughtly structured with great length. Another standout with excellent cellaring potential.
2001 Ata Rangi Pinot
Another fine vintage. Black cherries, plums and fruitcake. Attractive weight and structure, good length and balance. Probably sits between the 99 and 2000 in flavour and structure.
2002 Ata Rangi Pinot
Recently bottled (under stelvin) the 02 was fragrant with plums, cherry/red fruits and soft spice and tighter on the nose than the previous 3 wines. Silky ripe tannins and sweet fruit, quite soft and round. Very elegant, delicate wine with great length.
2003 Ata Rangi Pinot
Tiny yields (0.7-0.8 T/Acre) this wine was a barrel sample and is going to be a cracker! Extraordinary colour and fruit intensity for a wine that is still undergoing malo-lactic fermentation. Dense fruit and ultra-ripe tannins....very fruit saturated right now but Clive reckons the 2003 is like the 1999 on steriods and is going to be outstanding. I have to agree and this is one to save your pennies for......
Well that was it..... my partner in crime and I adjourned back to the pub with Olly and Clive to re-calibrate our palates and chat about important stuff like the All Blacks, Mountain Biking and Fly fishing.....one thing I found interesting was the fact that they employ aeration in some (not all) of the ferments....a lot of wine-makers seem to avoid exposing their Pinot's to oxygen....where the lads at Ata Rangi encourage it...using techniques like "Splash-Racking" to enhance tannin spread, structure and complexity....can't argue with that....their wines are awesome!
Right gotta start saving for that 2003....
Cheers
Dave
