95 Points — Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

It's serious in style with texture and complexity, yet offers instant appeal and upfront drinkability. The beautifully fragrant bouquet shows apricot, poached pear, oatmeal, subtle spice and floral notes on the nose, followed by a succulent palate displaying excellent weight and plush mouthfeel. Generous and harmonious, making it hugely appealing. At its best: now to 2030.

95 Points — Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review

Complex pinot gris with ripe tree fruits, pear, apple and a seasoning of roast chestnut, ginger and mandarin blossom. Intriguing and attractive wine in a dry(ish) style. A delicious wine that's ready now

92 Points — Nick Stock, Wine Critic

This has a very attractive, ripe and plush feel with smooth poached-pear and white-peach aromas and flavors. So softly rendered. Plenty of flavor and depth. Drink now. Screw cap.

98 Points — Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

Super concentrated and impeccably composed, this majestic chardonnay shows ripe stone fruit, fig, vanilla, oatmeal and roasted cashew aromas with a hint of wet limestone on the nose. The palate seems ethereal yet with power and compelling presence, offering seamless flow and multi-layered mouthfeel, brilliantly framed by bright acidity. Poised, intricate and substantial at once, promising to evolve graciously. At its best: 2025 to 2035.

98 Points — Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

Seamless, pure, very elegant, varietal and complex bouquet. Aromas and flavours of mineral and apple, white peach and citrus, raw cashew nut and a mix of sweet barrel spice with a gentle smoky quality. Fantastic texture as the wine touches the palate, very seductive and layered. Flavours mirror the bouquet, salivating acid line with a lick of saline. Lengthy, pure and ready for your cellar. Best drinking from late 2022 through 2028+.

92 points — Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast

This is new release from winemaker Helen Masters's home block of clay soils (as opposed to the stony soils of other vineyards). The vineyard produces a tight, flinty wine with concentration and richness. Lemon, stone fruit and oyster shell weave between cream and toasty oak. There's fruit weight and texture to the full-figured palate, and a long, tingly preserved lemon finish.

18.5 Points — Stephen Wong, Master of Wine

There is no doubt about it, this is a truly exciting and daring wine. Instantly impressive, super-complex and undeniably powerful even from the nose alone; the salty, zingy aromas are wrapped in a creamy white minerality - distinctly cool-climate in expression. From front to back, it soars with great delineation and airiness which opens up to an even more intense, chalky, dense mineral expression as it blooms. The palate is dense, powerful, salty and long with a persistent phenolic presence which coats the palate. Old-fashioned Chardonnay lovers may find the sustained phenolic pithiness a bit astringent, but I find that it gives an appetising digestibility which emphasises its chiselled nature. Incredibly singular in expression and a beautiful creature which manages to remain taut and refreshing despite its obvious power. It is wines like this which are carving the path forward for New Zealand Chardonnay - bravo to the Ata Rangi team!

94 Points — Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

It's gorgeously elegant and inviting on the nose showing white flesh stone fruit, lemon pith, almond meal and subtle vanilla notes, leading to a beautifully focused palate offering pristine fruit flavours with fleshy texture and bright acidity. Splendidly styled and delightfully expressed with excellent persistency. At its best: end of 2022 to 2030.

94 Points — Bob Campbell, Master of Wine

Potiki is a blend of wines from both new and established vineyards. It is an accessible wine with citrus, grapefruit, roasted nut, bread crust, almond and five-spice flavours. An appealing wine with a strong spicy oak influence

93 Points — Nick Stock, Wine Critic

Bursting with supple peach and grilled bread, as well as hazelnut, light spice and ripe, fresh pear. Has an airy and fleshy stance on the palate with such impressive weight and balance. Apples and pears here with a crisp finish and gentle spiced hazelnut to close. Drink now. Screw cap

17 Points — Stephen Wong, Master of Wine

The third release of Chardonnay under this label, the 2020 is deliciously sophisticated and incorporates newer plantings across several vineyards. From its flinty, smoky, grilled lemon nose to the feathery texture and refreshing burst of fruit acids, this is a more supple, flowing and detailed wine than its predecessors. Combining lovely herbal and mineral complexity with slight spice on the palate, this is really quite classy without sacrificing bright, lively fruit character. The palate’s overall lift and lightness hides a considerable amount of concentration, but where the 2018 expressed it as power and size, the 2020 is all about detail and elegance. All of this wonderfully interwoven complexity finishes on a lovely nutty note that conjures echoes of modern Meursault. 17.0 Stephen Wong MW November 2021

92 Points — Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
Attractive white peach, pear, hazelnut and honeysuckle aromas here with pastry and wet stones, too. The palate has a fresh, composed and elegantly crisp feel. Fresh, dry finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

95 Points — NZ Wine Rater
A very restrained, subtle, mellow, dare we say Burgundian-influenced, style on the nose. There are hints of nectarine, pear, almond, and lemon butter on the nose. A taut, dry, lighter-bodied, refreshing style with plenty of structure, salivating acidity, and longish, nutty finish. Great food style.

98 Points — Nick Stock, James Suckling.com

A complex wine from the outset with gently reductive notes and modern oak spice threading into fresh cherry, spiced bread, rose, forest wood and blood orange, as well as darker cherry notes. The palate tells the full story. This displays real power and definition with clear-cut and powerful tannins. The intensity of the red-cherry fruit is impressive and the way it occupies the finish with length and uplift is the thing that defines great pinot noir per se. Strong vintage. Drink over the next decade.

98 Points — Bob Campbell, The Real Review

Elegant, seamless pinot noir with fragrant, floral, red rose, dark cherry, anise, spice and restrained savoury and fresh herb characters. It's a complex medley of appealing flavours supported by an ethereal texture and a lingering finish. A surprisingly accessible wine from an excellent vintage. Should develop well with bottle age.

96 Points — Anne Krebiehl MW

Really aromatic cranberry and redcurrant fruit with that gorgeous edge of white pepper. With air, the fruit almost gets a candied, heightened quality. On the palate, the fruit performs a veritable tight walk, between candied ripeness and utter freshness.

94 Points — Bob Campbell, The Real Review

Ata Rangi’s second-label pinot noir made from grapes grown on younger vines than their flagship wine. It is sporting a new label showing a stylised Pōhutukawa flower. Seamless, stylish pinot noir with savoury, dried herb, spice, cherry, floral and violet flavours. Deliciously approachable now but should develop well, at least in the medium term.

94 Points — Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

Gorgeously styled and fragrant with dark cherry, olive, roasted nut and floral aromas with a hint of vanilla. The palate offers excellent fruit purity and velvety texture, combined with juicy fruit intensity backed by silky tannins, making it fabulously drinkable. At its best: now to 2029.

98 Points — Oliver Styles, clubonelogique.com

The big one, made from 39 year-old Abel clone vines. Doesn’t sound like much but in New Zealand terms this spans the country’s development as a serious, wine-producing nation. Very aromatic, but into the spectrum of dried herbs, chamomile, and cedar box. An impressive, very plush, palate – big, with an incredible “structure” on the finish: it’s expansive and velvety but it ends, running on with the acid and the fine, fine tannin. An umami, lush, structured, beautiful wine.

93 Points — Bob Campbell, The Real Review

A robust blend of 45% merlot, 40% syrah, 10% malbec and 5% cabernet franc with red berry, plum, toasted-oak and pepper-spice flavours. A complex wine with cellaring potential.

95 Points — Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

Wonderfully fruited and seductively styled, showing dark berry, clove, cedary oak and a hint of dried herb notes on the nose. The palate displays excellent weight and flow together with refined mouthfeel and fleshy texture, leading to a lengthy silky finish. Beautifully composed and harmonious. A blend of 45% Merlot, 40% Syrah, 10% Malbec & 5% Cabernet Franc. At its best: now to 2033.

96 Points — Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

Complex, calm, softly spoken aromas of citrus peel and cape gooseberry, golden kiwi fruit and apple. As the wine opens up so too does the aroma package becoming more complex and louder with a soft sage and herb layer. Delicious, dry and textured on the palate with flavours of lemon and red apple, more cape gooseberry and white fleshed orchard fruits. Youthful, savoury, complex and lengthy. A wine to enjoy today and through 2025+.

94 Points — Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com

This has an attractive and complex nose, offering really vivid ripe-peach, passion-fruit and lime-brulee aromas. The palate has impressively smooth texture and really fresh, deeply flavored peaches and mangoes abound. Delicious now. Screw cap.

93 Points — Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Winemaker Helen Masters builds complexity into the 2019 Te Wa Sauvignon Blanc by incorporating some skin contact (15%), a good bit of barrel fermentation and aging (40%), some malolactic, and indigenous ferments throughout. The impressive result offers up scents of orange marmalade, nectarines and gooseberries, while the medium-bodied palate is unusually silky for Sauvignon Blanc, gliding easily into a long, textural finish. To Masters's great credit, all of the parts come together harmoniously, with none of the individual aspects sticking out.

96 Points — Bob Campbell, The Real Review

Elegant, aromatic pinot noir with bright, high energy floral, violet, cherry, fresh herb, star anise and restrained spicy oak supported by fine tannins and juicy acidity. An attractively fragrant, supple wine that's a little lighter than usual but gives a nod in the direction of Burgundy and shows promising ageing potential.

96 Points — Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com

Aromas of red cherries, cedar, dry brown spices, forest berries and wood, as well as rose-like perfume. It opens and aromatically enriches with some air. The palate has all the trademark layering of smooth tannins and a smoothly ripe ball of fresh red cherries. Assertive drive to the finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

97 Points — Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

Splendidly perfumed and immensely complex, the wine shows sweet cherry, thyme, floral, cedar and earthy mushroom characters on the nose. The palate displays outstanding concentration and persistency, together with refined texture and flowing mouthfeel, finishing wonderfully long and seductive. It’s multi-layered and perfectly proportioned with a stunning line and length. At its best: 2022 to 2033.

97 Points — Jane Skilton, Gourmet Traveller

Beautifully aromatic with fresh red berry fruit and floral dried petal notes. The palate is a little reticent at first, but with time, reveals concentrated flavours wrapped up in exquisite, finely grained and carefully judged tannins. Terrific drive and length. Cellar for 2 - 9 years.

96 Points — Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

Sophisticated and gorgeously complex, the wine shows dark cherry, dried herb, warm mushroom, almond and game nuances on the nose, leading to a refined palate offering excellent focus and flow. It's finely textured with grainy tannins, offering superb structure and length. At its best: now to 2035. $75.00. www.atarangi.co.nz. Oct 2021.

95 Points — Bob Campbell, The Real Review

Fragant, floral, vibrant Syrah with violet, pepper, spice and a suggestion of red rose with a backbone of firm tannins that promise potential yet still allow the wine to be accessible now.

98 Points — Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast
This wine is made from a cooler, more clay-heavy block than Ata Rangi’s other organically farmed sites. The result is a Pinot brimming with personality, poise and deliciousness. The cranberry, sour cherry and wild strawberry fruit are radiant, streaked with graphite and sunbaked clay. Cocktail bitters, soy sauce, violet and rose round out a nose. The silky palate is tightly structured with talc-like tannins interlacing tart, juicy fruit. This is New Zealand Pinot Noir at its finest, able to be enjoyed now–2040

97 Points — Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
This is packed with bright red-cherry aromas and has a sheen of rose-like flowers across the nose, which is somewhat of an Ata Rangi signature. Some light earth and forest wood as well. Fresh and complex. The palate has intensely defined tannins that deliver impressively structured style with crisp red-cherry and raspberry flavors, as well as red plum to close. A powerful McCrone. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

96 Points — Bob Campbell, The Real Review
A subtle aroma of floral, red rose and dark cherry leads to a similar profile on the palate, together with a savoury, dried herb and mixed spice character. A smooth-textured pinot noir, with glycerol-coated tannins providing a gentle backbone.