Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc 2014
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Robert
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The next 20% - unsettled juice straight from the press - was barrel fermented in neutral barrels by indigenous yeasts and left on lees to enhance texture and body. A further 25% went through malo-lactic fermentation to soften out the wine. Intriguingly, the final 600 litres was fermented in contact with the ripe Sauvignon skins for almost a month in a large barrel with a stainless lid wide enough to gently submerge the berries during ferment. This last portion has real zing and lovely florals on the nose. Blended together, we're confident we've hand-crafted an outstanding 2014 Sauvignon Blanc.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc offers green apple and freshly squeezed lemon scents with hints of elderflower and fresh peas. There's a lively backbone of rasping acidity cutting through the intense citrus and apple notes, and it finishes with satisfying persistence.
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Wine Spectator
Medium-bodied, with plenty of crisp lemon meringue, lime and green apple flavors and an appealing fleshy texture. Mineral and peach details gain momentum, presenting a long, spice- and floral-spiked finish.
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He was one of a handful of winemaking pioneers in Martinborough, then a forgotten rural settlement, who were attracted to the area by two key features - the localised, free-draining shingle terrace some 20 metres deep and the lowest rainfall records of anywhere on the North Island of New Zealand.
Today Martinborough is a thriving wine appellation with an international reputation, particularly for premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Today Ata Rangi concentrates on hand making world class wines, namely pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and their Celebre (a cabernet blend). Yields are very low, typically 2 tonnes per acre and all grapes are hand-picked. Vines are now 20 years old, a factor in the wines ascending quality. Winemaking is very traditional using small, closed fermenters with wide top manholes which allow hand plunging. 20 hectares of vines are managed from which around 80 tonnes are crushed annually.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
Part of the Wairarapa region in the southern end of the country’s North Island, Martinborough is a bucolic appellation full of artisan, lifestyle wine producers. Above all else, their goals are to tend vineyards for low yields and create wines of supreme quality. Pinot noir is the main grape variety here, occupying over half of the land under vine.
Comparing topography, climate and soils, the region is nearly identical to Marlborough except that it produces top quality reds on the regular.