Martinborough, le pinot noir serré de l'île du Nord
11 bouteilles, du pinot noir de la terrasse au riesling sec du WairarapaAn hour and a half of driving north-east of Wellington, once over the Remutaka pass, the plain stops at a stony terrace laid down by ancient rivers. The wind off the Cook Strait sweeps it all year round: it limits the crop and thickens the skins of the grapes. Pinot Noir gains a deep colour, a firm tannin and a scent of spices here.
Three houses carry this section. Escarpment works the Te Muna Road terrace, block by block. Ata Rangi is among the pioneers of the district. Kusuda makes tiny-production cuvées. Alongside them come a peppery syrah, a cool-climate chardonnay and a dry riesling.
Ata Rangi - Crimson Pinot Noir 2022
An elegant New Zealand Pinot Noir, seductive with its balance between fruit, structure and finesse
Kusuda - Dry Riesling 2023
A dry and crystalline New Zealand Riesling, where sharp freshness meets aromatic precision of great purity.
Kusuda - Syrah 2021
A Martinborough Syrah of great precision, combining freshness, finesse and aromatic depth.
Kusuda - Pinot Noir 2022
A highly precise Pinot Noir from Martinborough, combining purity of fruit, freshness and fine texture.
Ata Rangi - Mc Crone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020
A precise and refined Pinot Noir from Martinborough, where the elegance of the fruit meets the depth of the McCrone terroir.
Escarpment - Kiwa Pinot Noir 2022
A precise and elegant Pinot Noir, expressing with intensity the freshness and depth of Te Muna Road.
Escarpment - Kupe Pinot Noir 2022
A deep and elegant Pinot Noir, a true reflection of its terroir.
Escarpment - Pahi Pinot Noir 2022
A precise and profound Pinot Noir that elegantly expresses the freshness of Te Muna Road.
Escarpment - Te Rehua Pinot Noir 2022
A precise and elegant Martinborough Pinot Noir, where fruit depth meets a silky texture and a beautiful length.
Escarpment - Chardonnay 2020
A precise and vibrant New Zealand Chardonnay, where cool-climate freshness meets lovely textural depth.
Ata Rangi - Pinot Noir 2020
A Pinot Noir that is at once deep, harmonious and complex, representative of its Martinborough terroir.
The pinot noirs in this section, site by site
Le secteur tient sur quelques kilomètres carrés de graviers, et chaque vignoble occupe une marche déposée à une époque différente. Un simple changement de bloc suffit à changer le vin, ce que la sélection rend lisible d'une cuvée à l'autre.
| Le domaine et la cuvée | Le site et le travail de cave | The profile in the glass | Prix à la bouteille |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ata Rangi, Crimson2022 | Jeunes vignes du domaine, grappes partiellement entières, dix mois de chêne français | Fruit rouge net, matière souple, épice discrète en finale | 39,90 € la bouteille, par lot de 3 |
| Escarpment, Te Rehua2022 | Parcelles voisines de Barton Vineyard, fermentation spontanée en cuves ouvertes | Fruit profond, texture soyeuse, allonge droite et longue | 53,80 € la bouteille, par lot de 2 |
| Escarpment, Kiwa2022 | Rive nord de la rivière Te Muna, graviers profonds, encuvage par gravité | Fruit noir et violette, tanin serré, fraîcheur marquée | 53,80 € la bouteille, par lot de 2 |
| Escarpment, Pahi2022 | Graviers profonds mêlés d'argiles, contrainte hydrique modérée, levures indigènes | Précis et profond, épices fines, finale saline | 53,80 € la bouteille, par lot de 2 |
| Escarpment, Kupé2022 | Bloc planté en 1999 sur Te Muna Road, la sélection haute du domaine | Matière dense, tanin fin, registre épicé, garde longue | 77,40 € la bouteille, par lot de 2 |
| Ata Rangi, Pinot Noir2020 | Coteaux du domaine, tri à la cave, cuves ouvertes et pigeages manuels | Profond et harmonieux, tanin ferme, garde de dix ans et plus | 86 € la bouteille, à l'unité |
| Ata Rangi, McCrone Vineyard2020 | Limons, graviers et argiles fines, macération à froid, part de vendange entière | Fruit élégant, profondeur, trame minérale serrée | 98 € la bouteille, à l'unité |
| Kusuda, Pinot Noir2022 | Terrasses de l'ancienne Ruamahanga, rendements infimes, tout à la main | Cerise noire, pivoine, texture soyeuse, acidité longue | 156 € la bouteille, à l'unité |
Escarpment draws most of these wines from a single terrace, Te Muna Road, planted from 1999 onwards: moving from one block to the next is enough to shift the cursor from fruit to spice. To place this style among the pinots of the world, the Pinot Noir page brings the variety together from one continent to another, and Central Otago gives its most southerly version.
When to open them, at what temperature, with what
A red from the terrace is drunk young on the fruit or left until its tannin melts in, depending on the plot it comes from. Here are the pointers we give over the phone, from the entry-level Pinot to the dry whites in this section.
| Le style | La fenêtre de garde | Service et carafe | À table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinot noir d'accès, assemblage de parcelles | The first five years, on the fruit | 15 degrés, un quart d'heure de carafe | Volaille rôtie, champignons, charcuterie fine |
| Pinot noir de lieu-dit, un bloc de la terrasse | Cinq à dix ans | 15 à 16 degrés, une demi-heure de carafe | Duck, pigeon, cep risotto |
| Pinot noir de sélection, vieilles parcelles | Dix ans et plus, souvent replié vers la troisième année | 16 degrés, une heure de carafe | Gibier à plume, côte de bœuf, fromages affinés |
| Syrah de climat frais | Cinq à dix ans | 16 degrés, une demi-heure de carafe | Agneau au thym, viandes poivrées, légumes grillés |
| Chardonnay fermenté en fût | Cinq à dix ans | 11 °C, in a large glass | Saint-jacques, volaille à la crème, poisson au four |
| Riesling sec de climat frais | Five to ten years, longer on the taut vintages | 10 degrés, ouverture directe | Huîtres, ceviche, cuisine asiatique relevée |
The same grape variety changes accent from one region to another: floral and taut on the south coast of the North Island, fleshier and sunnier inland on the South Island. The Marlborough and Central Otago pages give the two other readings, which the New Zealand wines pillar brings together.
A bottle for every mood
Ways into the terrace, from a first Pinot Noir to a bottle for the cellar, plus two whites.
Getting into the Pinot of the terrace
The young vines of a pioneering estate, vinified like the top cuvées: clean fruit, supple palate, ten months in French oak.
Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot Noir 2022 · 39,90 € la bouteille, par lot de 3Découvrir un lieu-dit de Te Muna
A precise block of gravels and clays, fermented with native yeasts. Terroir Pinot in its most chiselled form.
Escarpment Pahi Pinot Noir 2022 · 53,80 € la bouteille, par lot de 2Goûter deux blocs côte à côte
Voisin du Pahi sur la même terrasse, fermenté en levures du lieu : le lot de deux flacons suffit à mesurer ce que change une parcelle.
Escarpment Te Rehua Pinot Noir 2022 · 53,80 € la bouteille, par lot de 2Poser un flacon de garde en cave
The estate's cuvée from its historic slopes: depth, firm tannin and an ageing potential that runs beyond a decade. For a special table.
Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2020 · 86 € la bouteille, à l'unitéOffrir une cuvée rare
Tiny yields, entirely hand-worked, silky texture carried by a long acidity. A jeweller's Pinot, made in very small volumes.
Kusuda Pinot Noir 2022 · 156 € la bouteille, à l'unitéTenter la syrah poivrée du secteur
Blackberry, violet and black pepper over a fine frame: the cool reading of the grape variety, the opposite of Australia's sun-drenched versions.
Kusuda Syrah 2021 · 136 € la bouteille, à l'unitéOuvrir un blanc de climat frais
Barrel-fermented with the yeasts of the place, partial malolactic: citrus, hazelnut and a generous texture held by the acidity.
Escarpment Chardonnay 2020 · 31,80 € la bouteille, par caisse de 6Un riesling sec et tranchant
Whole-bunch pressed, slowly fermented in tank: lime, white flowers, saline finish. The white for shellfish and spices.
Kusuda Dry Riesling 2023 · 64 € la bouteille, par lot de 2
Ceux qui ont planté la terrasse
At the end of the nineteen-seventies, New Zealand agronomists set out to find the climates in the country closest to Burgundy. A stony terrace in the Wairarapa stood out: little rain, cold nights, deep gravels and a constant wind. The first vines followed at once, on plots nobody else wanted. Clive Paton founded Ata Rangi in 1980 and planted his Pinot Noir by hand.
Twenty years later, Larry McKenna opened Escarpment on the neighbouring Te Muna terrace, and Hiroyuki Kusuda, a former Japanese diplomat trained in Germany, made his first vintage in 2001. Three generations of growers, one and the same stony soil.
Comment on choisit
Nous goûtons chaque cuvée avant de l'inscrire, et deux points décident. Le premier, la tenue du tanin : serré, il doit rester fin sous la dent. Le second, la fraîcheur de la finale, celle qui relance la bouche et fait redemander un verre. La précision passe devant la puissance, toujours.
L'équipe du Baroudeur du Vin
Ce qu'on nous demande sur Martinborough
Pourquoi ces bouteilles partent-elles souvent par lot ou par caisse ?
The estates on the terrace work in small volumes and ship in full cases, which keeps the price tight despite the distance. The price shown on each listing is still the price of one bottle, with the sales format right next to it. A good part of this section can nonetheless be bought singly, from Ata Rangi and from Kusuda.
Are Shiraz and Syrah the same grape variety?
Yes, a single grape under two names. Australia kept the spelling shiraz it received in the 19th century and pushes the variety towards power and candied fruit. New Zealand writes syrah and looks for pepper, violet and tension, as in the northern Rhône. The two styles can be compared on the Syrah page.
Qu'est-ce qui distingue ce vignoble du reste du pays ?
Its size and its wind. The district occupies a single alluvial terrace, the smallest area among the great New Zealand Pinot Noir regions. The gusts off the Cook Strait sweep through it all season: they reduce the number of berries, thicken the skins and concentrate the material. Hence reds with more structure and more spice than elsewhere.
Pinot de Martinborough ou pinot de Central Otago, lequel choisir ?
The first, born on very free-draining gravels and swept by the wind, gives a tight, spicy wine with a firm tannin that calls for meat. The second, sheltered by the Southern Alps, leans towards black cherry, thyme and a broader flesh. See Central Otago for that second reading.
Martinborough ou Wairarapa, que disent ces deux noms ?
Wairarapa covers the whole wine zone in the south-east of the North Island, which also includes Gladstone and the area around Masterton. Martinborough names the township and the gravel terrace around it, the historic heart of the vineyard. The cuvées in this section come from that terrace and from the one on Te Muna Road, just to the south.
Pourquoi la syrah réussit-elle sur ces graviers ?
Because the climate stays cool and ripening is slow. The variety then keeps its acidity and develops black pepper, violet and blackberry rather than jam. The stony soils store the heat of the day and give it back at night, which is enough to carry the bunches to full ripeness.
Le sauvignon blanc d'ici ressemble-t-il à celui de Marlborough ?
It takes the opposite line. On this terrace, the variety gives a wine with more texture, broader through the mid-palate, where ripe citrus and white flowers come ahead of the exotic fruit. Marlborough keeps the bright, cutting version that the world knows: the Marlborough page sets it out valley by valley.
Combien de temps se garde un pinot noir de ce secteur ?
The blended cuvées are best drunk within their first five years, on the fruit. The single-block wines hold five to ten years, and the top selections run beyond a decade: their firm tannin and their acidity carry them. Many fold in on themselves around the third year, then open again on forest floor and spice.