Martinborough, the tight Pinot Noir of the North Island
1 bottles, from terrace Pinot Noir to dry Wairarapa RieslingAn 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 - Pōtiki Chardonnay 2024
A Chardonnay from the Martinborough Terrace, aged on the lees, at once deep, saline and very fresh.
The pinot noirs in this section, site by site
The sector fits on a few square kilometres of gravel, and each vineyard sits on a step laid down at a different time. A simple change of block is enough to change the wine, which the selection makes readable from one cuvée to the next.
| The estate and the cuvée | The site and the cellar work | The profile in the glass | Price per bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ata Rangi, Crimson2022 | Young estate vines, partly whole bunches, ten months in French oak | Clean red fruit, supple substance, discreet spice on the finish | €39.90 per bottle, in a pack of 3 |
| Escarpment, Te Rehua2022 | Plots neighbouring Barton Vineyard, spontaneous fermentation in open fermenters | Deep fruit, silky texture, a straight, long finish | €53.80 per bottle, in a pack of 2 |
| Escarpment, Kiwa2022 | North bank of the Te Muna river, deep gravels, gravity-fed vatting | Black fruit and violet, tight tannin, marked freshness | €53.80 per bottle, in a pack of 2 |
| Escarpment, Pahi2022 | Deep gravels mixed with clays, moderate water stress, native yeasts | Precise and deep, fine spices, saline finish | €53.80 per bottle, in a pack of 2 |
| Escarpment, Kupé2022 | A block planted in 1999 on Te Muna Road, the estate's top selection | Dense substance, fine tannin, spicy register, long ageing | €77.40 per bottle, in a pack of 2 |
| Ata Rangi, Pinot Noir2020 | Estate slopes, sorting in the cellar, open fermenters and manual punching down | Deep and harmonious, firm tannin, ageing potential of ten years and more | €86 per bottle, sold individually |
| Ata Rangi, McCrone Vineyard2020 | Silts, gravels and fine clays, cold maceration, a share of whole-bunch fruit | Elegant fruit, depth, tight mineral backbone | €98 per bottle, sold individually |
| Kusuda, Pinot Noir2022 | Terraces of the old Ruamahanga, tiny yields, everything done by hand | Black cherry, peony, silky texture, long acidity | €156 per bottle, sold individually |
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.
| The style | The ageing window | Serving and decanting | Dinner's ready |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level Pinot Noir, a blend of plots | The first five years, on the fruit | 15 degrees, a quarter of an hour in a decanter | Roast poultry, mushrooms, fine charcuterie |
| Single-site Pinot Noir, one block of the terrace | Five to ten years | 15 to 16 degrees, half an hour in a decanter | Duck, pigeon, cep risotto |
| Selection Pinot Noir, old plots | Ten years and more, often closed up around the third year | 16 degrees, one hour in a decanter | Game birds, rib of beef, aged cheeses |
| Cool-climate Syrah | Five to ten years | 16 degrees, half an hour in a decanter | Lamb with thyme, peppery meats, grilled vegetables |
| Barrel-fermented Chardonnay | Five to ten years | 11 °C, in a large glass | Scallops, chicken in cream sauce, baked fish |
| Dry cool-climate Riesling | Five to ten years, longer on the taut vintages | 10 degrees, open and serve | Oysters, ceviche, spicy Asian cuisine |
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 per bottle, in a pack of 3Discover a Te Muna single site
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 per bottle, in a pack of 2Taste two blocks side by side
Pahi's neighbour on the same terrace, fermented with the site's own yeasts: the pack of two bottles is enough to measure what a plot changes.
Escarpment Te Rehua Pinot Noir 2022 · €53.80 per bottle, in a pack of 2Lay a bottle down in the cellar
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 per bottle, sold individuallyGive a rare cuvée
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 per bottle, sold individuallyTry the sector's peppery Syrah
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 per bottle, sold individuallyOpen a cool-climate white
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 per bottle, by the case of 6A dry, razor-sharp Riesling
Whole-bunch pressed, slowly fermented in tank: lime, white flowers, saline finish. The white for shellfish and spices.
Kusuda Dry Riesling 2023 · €64 per bottle, in a pack of 2
Those who planted the terrace
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.
How do you choose
We taste every cuvée before listing it, and two points decide. The first is the tannin's hold: tight, but it must stay fine on the palate. The second is the freshness of the finish, the kind that lifts the palate and makes you want another glass. Precision always comes before power.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we are asked about Martinborough
Why are these bottles often sold in sets or by the case?
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.
What distinguishes this wine region from the rest of the country?
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.
Martinborough Pinot or Central Otago Pinot: which one to choose?
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 or Wairarapa: what do these two names tell you?
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.
Why does Syrah succeed on these gravels?
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.
Is the Sauvignon Blanc from here similar to Marlborough's?
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.
How long does a Pinot Noir from this sector keep?
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.