Ata Rangi

"When I asked winemakers to name New Zealand's greatest producers,one name kept coming up: Ata Rangi, meaning 'new beginning'. " Neal Martin e-Robert Parker.com APRIL 08

"It's true. Ata Rangi has the Midas touch with all of its wines" - Bob Campbell MW, Home & Entertaining Aug 07

"Ata Rangi is easily the most consistent producer in Australasia, making complex, age-worthy wines." Tim White, Australian Financial Review Feb 07

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Ata Rangi is owned and managed by Clive Paton, his wife Phyll and Clive's sister Alison. Clive planted the originally bare, stony 12-acre home paddock at the edge of the Martinborough village in 1980 and, in doing so, was one of a handful of people who pioneered grape growing in the area. Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is now widely considered a leading New World example of this challenging variety.

Armadale Cellars has been offered a special selection of their wines at some bargain prices. Read on for more details, and contact us to let us know what we can reserve for you!

9509-3055 or Email us!

ATA RANGI SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008

Hand-picked from a near perfect season, this sublime wine shows a glorious medley of tropical fruits, passionfruit, citrus, elderflower and pear. It is rich and fleshy, almost creamy on the palate, with a restraint and elegance that is all class. Aiming for a complex, satisfying, food-friendly style, a small portion was fermented in older barrels to enhance mid palate weight and texture. Our dry windy climate consistently delivers low yields and this variety is no exception. Obsessive attention to detail throughout the season ensures the fruit comes in at optimum flavour and balance, sometimes even harvesting the warmer side of individual rows and going back a few days later for the cooler side. Winemaker Helen Masters considers the 2008 one of the finest sauvignons yet produced by Ata Rangi.

ATA RANGI PETRIE CHARDONNAY 2006

Bob Campbell MW really sums up the 2006 vintage for us…. "Seductively fruity Chardonnay with guava, melon and ripe peach flavours together with a very subliminal oak and nutty yeast lees character. Silken-textured wine that is utterly charming and, at this price, a bargain."
The grapes are sourced from a very low-yielding vineyard owned by the Petrie family, twenty minutes drive north of Martinborough on river terraces at East Taratahi.

ATA RANGI CRAIGHALL CHARDONNAY 2007

Deliciously rich, complex Chardonnay with inviting aromas of white peach, melon, lime flesh and even a hint of freshly baked brioche. There's a gorgeous white floral note as well, evocative of old-fashioned acacia or citrus blossom. The palate is tight but weighty; flawlessly balanced with fine oak and vivid fruit expressed as a burst of freshness and flavour on the finish. This classic Chardonnay is a very clean, poised, focused wine with lovely texture and succulent minerality.
Craighall Chardonnay 2007 is produced predominantly from the low-yielding Mendoza clone vines planted on our neighbouring vineyard of the same name, over twenty years ago. Indigenous yeasts are employed which slow the onset and duration of fermentation, resulting in a broader and more complex array of flavours and also contribute to the fine structure and wickedly long, seamless finish.

ATA RANGI PINOT GRIS 2008

The 2008 season has delivered a very pure fruit expression of Pinot Gris - fresh pear with soft floral aromas of jasmine, lemongrass and hints of toasted almond. The texture is full and fine, more elegant and restrained than earlier vintages. Balanced with 9g/l residual sugar, it is gorgeous with Thai and other Asian influenced food, or simply enjoy as an aperitif.
Pinot gris from the Lismore block always achieves optimum flavours later in the season. As a result, we pick relatively late to achieve a wine closer to the richer style of pinot gris made famous in the Alsace region of France, rather than the leaner, generally bone-dry 'pinot grigio' version, popular in the north of Italy.

ATA RANGI 'KAHU' BOTRYTIS RIESLING 2008

Kahu, Maori for Harrier Hawk, inspired the name for Gerald and Juliet Hensley's neighbouring vineyard and the luscious dessert wine grown there. Rich botrytis characters of ripe nectarine, mandarin and a hint of nutmeg provide a beautiful foil for the classic Riesling aromas of lime and talc. There is a fine, delicate entry with a succulent mid palate. The juicy acidity combined with a residual sugar of 130g/l results in a rich but fresh expression of Riesling. Kahu makes a lovely after-dinner drop, delicious with the classic combination of blue cheese, a few nuts and a slice of fresh, creamy pear. (12 x 375ml

ATA RANGI CÉLÈBRE 2005

On the nose are fragrant, Christmas spices - cloves, cinnamon and cardamom - enhanced further by the plummy richness of Merlot and Syrah's sweet, freshly-cracked black pepper characters. There's also a pinch of sweet tobacco, the rich aroma of black olives and the toasty notes of French oak barriques in which the wine was aged for 18 months. The palate is supple, vibrant and youthful, with a finely extracted backbone from the Cabernets providing length on the palate.

Célèbre enjoys an extraordinarily loyal following by those in the know. It has always been a wine with character, though has evolved over 21 years from a somewhat austere, robust, Cabernet-dominant wine to the more fragrant, supple and generous wine it is today. We're now sourcing fruit from both Martinborough and Hawke's Bay, taking the best of what each region has to offer in any particular season.

Yields were low in both regions in 2005, a result of the very cold flowering season, and a factor in the excellent weight and concentration. The blend is 35% cabernets (25% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon) 35% syrah, 30% merlot.

ATA RANGI PINOT NOIR 2007

An extremely low-yielding 2007 vintage has delivered a serious, muscular, powerful pinot noir. Dark brooding plum, cherry-stone aromas and exotic spice lead to a rich, dense palate characterised by firm but supple tannins and a deliciously 'Martinborough' gamey, savoury complexity. Although relatively subdued on the nose at this early stage, the long, long finish is laden with fruit weight and intensity that speaks volumes of the promise of aromas and flavours yet to unfold - the intrigue and fascination of classic pinot noir.

Why such a low yield? Flowering weather (about four months before vintage) was atrocious. As a result both bunches and berries were very, very small. The crew meticulously flicked away any shriveled fruit as they picked. With such tiny berries, the skins to juice ratio was extremely high, making the ferments quite challenging to plunge! There was never any question that the season would deliver on tannin and structure, promising a wine that offers excellent cellaring potential.