2024 Ata Rangi Kotinga Pinot Noir | 97 Point Single Vineyard Pinot Noir

🔥 97 + 97 + 96 POINTS | ONE OF ATA RANGI'S GREAT SINGLE-VINEYARD PINOTS

Ata Rangi Takes Pinot Noir to Another Level

If the flagship Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is one of New Zealand's benchmark wines, Kotinga takes us even deeper

97 points - JamesSuckling.com | 96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion | 95 Points – The Wine Front | 95 Points – The Real Review 

Single Vineyard – Martinborough, New Zealand

If the flagship Ata Rangi Pinot Noir is one of New Zealand's benchmark wines, Kotinga takes us even deeper.This is Ata Rangi through the lens of a single vineyard.The 2024 Ata Rangi Kotinga Pinot Noir comes from a distinctive site on the edge of the Martinborough river terrace and is one of Ata Rangi's small collection of individual vineyard Pinot Noirs alongside McCrone and Masters. And 2024 appears to be an extraordinary vintage for the project.Ata Rangi itself calls 2024 one of the finest vintages it has seen, while Master of Wine Stephen Wong describes 2024 as arguably the finest modern vintage in the Wairarapa, combining concentration with finesse and unusually fine structures. The critics have responded:

97 Points – JamesSuckling.com

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

95 Points – The Wine Front

95 Points – The Real Review

This is serious Pinot Noir.

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Tasting Profile

Ata Rangi's own tasting note adds another layer.The 2024 opens with:Red berries • Pomegranate • Raspberry • Aniseedbefore revealing:Wild Strawberry • Cardamom • Beeswaxin the glass.There's excellent fruit weight through the mid-palate, but it's carried by beautifully fine, structured tannins before unfolding into a long finish. Put the producer and critic notes together and you get a fascinating spectrum:

• Red cherry
• Wild strawberry
• Raspberry
• Pomegranate
• Redcurrant
• Tart red plum
• Bitter orange
• Aniseed
• Cardamom
• Warm herbs
• Baking spices
• Sarsaparilla
• Beeswax
• Iron-like savouriness
• Slate
• Flint
• Fine tannins
• Bright acidity
• Long mineral finish

That's a lot going on.

And that's exactly the point.

Great Pinot Noir should keep changing in the glass.

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Kotinga – A Single-Vineyard Ata Rangi

This is where Kotinga separates itself from the flagship Ata Rangi Pinot Noir.The regular Ata Rangi Pinot brings together old-vine parcels from multiple vineyards.Kotinga is about:

One site.

Halliday describes Kotinga as a vineyard sitting on the edge of the river terrace at Martinborough. That makes this a fascinating wine to taste alongside Ata Rangi's other Pinot Noirs.Same producer.Same winemaker.Same broad region.Different vineyard.And suddenly Pinot Noir begins speaking with a different voice.That's the magic of the variety.

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Martinborough – It's All About the Site

Martinborough's reputation has been built on an unusual combination of:Old river gravelsLow rainfallWarm daysCool nightsand naturally restrained vineyard conditions.Ata Rangi notes that these free-draining soils force vines to work hard, creating fruit with concentration, character and a strong expression of site. Kotinga takes that concept even further.Instead of blending several sites together, you're seeing the personality of one vineyard isolated in the bottle.

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Dijon Clones – No Abel

Here's a fascinating detail for serious Pinot Noir drinkers.Kotinga was planted in 2000 to Dijon Pinot Noir clones:

115 • 667 • 777

The Wine Front's review notes that there's no Abel clone in the vineyard. That's particularly interesting at Ata Rangi.The famous Abel clone has played an important role in the story of Martinborough Pinot Noir.Kotinga gives you something different.A Pinot Noir based around Dijon material, from a specific vineyard, with its own structural and aromatic identity.

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40% Whole Bunch

The 2024 also includes approximately:

40% whole bunch.

That's important stylistically.Whole-bunch fermentation can bring additional:PerfumeHerbal complexitySpiceStructureandSappy freshnessto Pinot Noir.And those characters are all over the 2024 Kotinga.Red fruit.Herbs.Spice.Anise.Floral complexity.Fine but definite tannin.This isn't simply a soft, pretty Pinot.There's architecture underneath it.

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Large-Format Foudre

Here's another key detail.Kotinga is matured in:

Large-format foudre.

The Wine Front notes that used foudre is deliberately employed to preserve the sappy, crunchy personality of the vineyard, while Halliday's discussion of the Kotinga project also highlights large-format oak. That's a really important decision.Smaller barrels expose a greater proportion of wine to oak.Large-format vessels allow the winemaker to develop texture and complexity without overwhelming the personality of the vineyard.In other words:

Less oak flavour. More Kotinga.

Exactly what you want from a single-vineyard Pinot Noir.

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Certified Organic Viticulture

The vineyard story gets even more interesting.The Wine Front notes that the site has undergone organic conversion and certification, with improvements observed in aspects of the fruit and wine as the farming changed. Ata Rangi's broader vineyard program is based around certified organic practices, with its vineyard team hand-tending numerous small sections across the estate. For a single-vineyard Pinot Noir, that matters.This is a wine whose entire purpose is to express:

Place.

So vineyard health becomes fundamental.

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Helen Masters

Behind these wines is winemaker Helen Masters.Ata Rangi was founded by Clive Paton in 1980, and more than four decades later Helen is responsible for crafting the wines, working alongside vineyard manager Ian Ewart. That's an enviable position for a winemaker.Ata Rangi has decades of Martinborough experience.Established vineyards.An extraordinary Pinot Noir reputation.And now individual sites such as Kotinga can be explored in much greater detail.It's the sort of evolution you see in mature wine regions.First you prove the region.Then you prove the producer.Then you start drilling down into:

Individual vineyards.

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Kotinga vs Ata Rangi Pinot Noir

This is where things get really interesting.

2024 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir – RRP $130

97 Points – The Real Review
96 Points – JamesSuckling.com
95+ Points – The Wine FrontAta Rangi's flagship expression.Old vines.Multiple Martinborough Terrace vineyards.Complex, powerful and built for the cellar.

2024 Ata Rangi Kotinga Pinot Noir – RRP $180

97 Points – JamesSuckling.com
96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
95 Points – The Wine Front
95 Points – The Real ReviewSingle vineyard.Dijon clones.40% whole bunch.Large-format foudre.More focused on the personality of one site.I wouldn't look at Kotinga as simply:“The more expensive Ata Rangi.”It's a different proposition.

It's Ata Rangi through a microscope.

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Kotinga vs McCrone vs Masters

And then things get really serious.Ata Rangi has released three single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from 2024:

Kotinga

Red Cherry • Redcurrant • Orange • Herbs • Spice • FlintEnergetic, crunchy, mineral and fine.

McCrone

Forest Berries • Sour Cherry • Wild Herbs • Crushed StoneThe 2024 received an extraordinary 98 points from JamesSuckling.com and is the darker, more muscular and powerful expression.

Masters

Raspberry • Strawberry • Violet • Rose • Spice • HerbsMore floral, perfumed and seductive, with fine tannin and significant underlying tension. Same producer.Same vintage.Same region.Three vineyards.

Three completely different expressions of Pinot Noir.

That's fascinating.

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2024 – An Exceptional Martinborough Vintage

And 2024 looks like the perfect year to explore them.Stephen Wong MW describes 2024 as arguably the finest modern Wairarapa vintage, with low yields creating concentration while the fruit achieved beautiful ripeness without the excessive warmth seen in some previous great years.He compares its finesse and elegance with 2021, but sees even sleeker and finer structure. Ata Rangi itself says the vintage delivered a rare alignment of conditions and describes the resulting Pinot Noirs as some of the finest it has seen. So if you're going to buy Kotinga for the cellar:

2024 looks like a vintage to target.

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13.5% Alcohol

The 2024 Kotinga sits at:

13.5% alcohol.

Again, beautifully judged.There's concentration.There's ripeness.There's plenty of fruit.But there's also freshness and tension.That's what the critics keep returning to.Silky tannins.Crisp acidity.Minerality.Crunch.Finesse.Everything remains in balance.

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Food Pairing

This deserves serious food.Try it with:

• Roast duck
• Duck breast
• Venison
• Quail
• Pork belly
• Roast pork
• Lamb loin
• Mushroom risotto
• Wild mushroom pasta
• Truffle dishes
• Charcuterie
• Comté
• Gruyère

My pick?

Duck breast with wild mushrooms.

The red cherry, raspberry and pomegranate fruit will work beautifully against the richness of the duck, while the herbs, spice, ferrous savouriness and mineral edge will pick up the earthiness of the mushrooms.Serve around:

14–16°C

And use a proper Burgundy glass.This deserves it.

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Cellar This One

Yes, you can drink it now.James Suckling says drink or hold. But I'd be patient.Halliday gives it a drinking window extending to 2037, while Cameron Douglas believes it will be at its best around 2032–2040+. I'd suggest:

Drink 2028–2042+.

If you're opening one now, give it a serious decant.But if you only have one bottle?

Cellar it.

There's too much structure and potential here to rush.

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Is $180 Worth It?

Let's put the bottle into context.You're getting:

97 Points – JamesSuckling.com
96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
95 Points – The Wine Front
95 Points – The Real Review

plus:Single-Vineyard Pinot Noir

40% whole bunch🪵 Large-format foudre

At:

RRP $180.

No, this isn't cheap Pinot Noir.It's not supposed to be.This is Ata Rangi drilling down into one individual Martinborough vineyard and trying to show exactly what that site can do.That's a very different proposition.

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Why We Love It

 

The flagship Ata Rangi Pinot Noir tells you about:

Martinborough.

Kotinga tells you about:

Kotinga.

That's the distinction.

One vineyard.

Planted to Dijon clones.

40% whole bunch.

Large-format foudre.

Organic viticulture.

A great winemaker.

And an exceptional vintage.

Then look at the scores:

97 James Suckling

96 Halliday

95 The Wine Front

95 The Real Review

This is Pinot Noir for someone who wants to go beyond simply buying a famous label.

It's for someone interested in site.

If you love serious Burgundy, Martinborough Pinot or simply want to explore the very top end of New Zealand Pinot Noir, Kotinga absolutely belongs on your radar.

And I'd love to taste this alongside the regular 2024 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir.

One gives you the complete Ata Rangi picture.

The other zooms right into one vineyard.

97 Points. Single Vineyard. Kotinga. Martinborough.

The 2024 Ata Rangi Kotinga Pinot Noir is a thrilling expression of just how far Martinborough Pinot Noir has come – precise, savoury, mineral, beautifully structured and built to evolve for years.

Searching for exceptional Martinborough Pinot Noir? The 2024 Ata Rangi Kotinga Pinot Noir is a 97-point single-vineyard New Zealand Pinot Noir offering red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, orange peel, herbs and exotic spice with silky tannins, crisp acidity and outstanding mineral length.