The outstanding 2006 McCrone Pinot Noir is a joint-venture with Oregon winemakers Don and Carol McCrone who purchased a vineyard contiguous with Ata Rangi's and their first vintage was bottled in July 2007. A stunning debut with ripe crisp raspberry leaf and cranberry fruit on the nose with an essence of minerality underneath, the palate is medium-bodied, almost perfectly balanced with a delicate, feminine, mulberry-tinged finish that belies its power. Quantities are very limited and I believe the wine will be available by mail order only.
When I asked winemakers to name New Zealand's greatest producers, one name kept coming up: Ata Rangi (meaning -new beginning-.) It was founded in 1980 by pioneering winemaker Clive Paton when he planted his first vines on a free-draining gravel terrace just outside Martinborough village. Paton was joined by Malcolm Abel two years later. Malcolm tragically died after one year and the vineyard was lost to urban development, but he had given Clive cuttings supposedly from none other than DRC and this -Abel Clone- is the basis of Ata Rangi's Pinot Noir (along with Clone 5 and Pommard clones). Head winemaker since November 2003 is Helen Masters, who oversees their own vineyards of approximately 30 hectares sourced under leased contracts. This was a superlative array of wines.
Importers: Epic Wines, Santa Cruz, CA; tel. (831) 689-9080 and Domaine Select Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799; fax (212) 279-0499
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