Ata Rangi — 40th Anniversary 2020
The year was 1980, and Pinot Noir was a relatively unknown grape variety in New Zealand…
2020 marked 40 years since Clive Paton bought 5 hectares of stony Martinborough sheep paddock to plant pinot noir. This gutsy move also heralded a new dawn for Clive’s sister Alison, who joined Ata Rangi three years later, and for winemaker Phyll Pattie, who joined the family when she married Clive in 1987.
Clive was inspired by a report from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) that analysed which areas in New Zealand were best suited to the production of high-quality wines from classical grape varieties. It asserted that Martinborough was ideally suited to Burgundian style wines, especially pinot noir.
Today Ata Rangi is still owned and operated by the Paton family. Our talented winemaking team, led by winemaker Helen Masters, remains in service to the land and the wine. Our 40th anniversary was a great time to celebrate that first new beginning and to look forward to the future. We are proud to be one of New Zealand’s most distinguished Pinot Noir producers.
To celebrate our 40th anniversary we have kept one barrel of wine made from our original Pinot Noir Abel plantings separate from the 2019 vintage and have bottled in Magnums only. These older vines were planted directly into the ground in 1980 with no rootstock and with careful attention are producing very fine, detailed Pinot Noir. This special Old Abel Pinot Noir is extremely limited and available for a short time only.
Olly Styles reviewed this wine for Club Oenologique:
“98/100 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.”
So what’s next for Ata Rangi? You’ll just have to wait and see…