The nose is complex with aromas of cranberry, raspberry and carraway alongside an earthy spice element. The palate is finely structured with bramble fruit flavours, fine tannins and a savoury finish

The most seductive feature of this release is the wonderfully plush, velvety mid-palate, the fine, textural spread of tannins and the long, tight, spicy finish.

Crimson is a wine which was inspired by a love of New Zealand's native 'Christmas Trees' the rata and pohutukawa trees. Sales of this wine support Project Crimson, a charitable conservation trust which plants and protects these trees. The Pinot Noir grapes for Crimson are produced from 5-20 year old Martinborough vines in Lismore, Waiora and Walnut Ridge blocks. The area is a deep gravel terrace with an alluvial loess layer over the gravels.

The season started well with a slightly delayed bud break due to wet winter conditions which also replenished the soil moisture content. A warm end to November resulted in a quick and even flowering. The conditions remained warm with November and December seeing the highest growing degree days on record and January bringing temperatures up to 35°C. Significant rainfall in the middle of February created challenges in the vineyard with the high levels of humidity increasing the risk of fungal infections. Careful vineyard management kept the vines healthy despite the conditions and harvest began on the 5th of March.

The grapes were hand picked and 100% destemmed, keeping as many berries intact as possible. Pre-fermentation maceration lasted between two and six days. The must was inoculated with indigenous yeasts and fermentation lasted two to three weeks in stainless steel tanks, with hand-plunging throughout. The wine was racked into oak barrels, of which 20% were new, where it remained for a further nine months after malolactic fermentation until bottling.

Ata Rangi is owned and run by Clive Paton and his wife Phyll, together with Clive's sister Alison and winemaker Helen Masters. Clive planted the bare, stony five hectare home paddock at the edge of Martinborough in 1980 and, in doing so, was one of a handful of people who pioneered grape growing in the area. Renowned for their Pinot Noir, which is consistently ranked as one of New Zealand's best, Ata Rangi also produces a range of white wines including Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.