Source: jamessuckling.com. Issue Date: Monday, October 16, 2019 (JS-93)

There’s so much to this wine. It is a pinot that really speaks of quality tannin, fresh and quite concentrated fruit flavors and a layered, succulent, fleshy and rich, dark-cherry finish. One of the best value wines on the planet, hands down! Drink now. Screw cap.

Source: April 2020 Week 3, The Wine Advocate; Issue Date: 16th Apr 2020 (RP-91)

The 2018 Crimson Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from vines up to about 20 years of age. Originally, it was a fruit-forward, young-vines cuvée, but this vintage is cut from sturdier cloth, showing some serious tannins on the finish. It's pretty and perfumed up front, with scents of roses and berry tea, adding raspberries and cherries on the medium-bodied, structured palate. Give it another year or two in the cellar, then drink it over the next 7-8 years.
Drink Date: 2021 - 2028

Source: Winemaker

Only the oldest parcels of fruit are used in this, our premium Pinot Noir. The fabled Abel clone makes up 40% of the blend. The result is a very complex, structured wine, beautifully perfumed in the classic Ata Rangi style.

The 2018 season was one of the warmest we’ve seen. On the Martinborough Terrace, a drier than unusual November and very warm December led up to regional temperatures breaking records in late January. This created a good buffer from the wetter and cooler weather that appeared at the back end of the season. Grapes were therefore picked pleasingly ripe and in great condition.

The resulting wine presents a medley of aromas on the nose: tree-ripened plums, mulberry, exotic five spice and liquorice. It has a gorgeous entry, opening smoothly into a full mid-palate. Flavours of rosehip entwine with a fine and savoury tannin structure that persists as an elegant, classic feature of Ata Rangi Pinot Noir.

Harvest Date: 22 March - 11 April
Clones: Abel, Clone 5, Dijon clones, 10/5.
Harvest Analysis: Brix 22.5 - 24.0
Bottling Date: August 2019
Cellaring: 10 - 20 years
Wine Analysis: Alc 13.5%, TA 5.0 g/l
Winemaking: 35% whole bunch with the remainder destemmed. Fermentation by indigenous yeasts. Peak ferment temp 32 degrees C, all ferments hand-plunged. Total tank time 20 - 23 days. After pressing, complete malolactic ferment in oak. 11 months total in French oak (35% new) , then blended and held for another 6 months.