CRAIGHALL CHARDONNAY
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2008 - 95/100
Benchmark Martinborough Chardonnay from one of the region's long standing vineyards. Soft, restrained and refined vanilla pod, fig, peach and white nectarine flavours are held together by fine, lingering minerality on a creamy but streamlined finish. 95 points.
Tyson Stelzer, WBM 100 March 2010
ATA RANGI CRAIGHALL CHARDONNAY 2007
wins GOLD MEDAL and TROPHY for
TOP New Zealand Chardonnay
at the UK INTERNATIONAL WINE CHALLENGE!
Also wins GOLD at the TRI NATIONS 2009 taste off between NZ, Australia and South Africa.
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2007
An absolutely outstanding wine. Rich butter on the nose with a slight green bean tinge, great weight, with a wonderful mouthfeel and pleasing acidity. Sublime.
Will Lyons, Scotland on Sunday 11 Oct 09
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2007, 5 stars
This Martinborough chardonnay has refined white peach-like aromas harmoniously trimmed with nutty oak and subtle, mealy complexities. A very fine texture, mouth-filling yet without heaviness and a very long, elegant finish. Ralph Kyte-Powell,
The Melbourne Age 2 Dec 08
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2007
Here is the answer to all those people who think Chardonnay is too fruity, too oaky, too alcoholic, too clumsy - which can sometimes be the case. This Martinborough wine is subtlety personified, but it is far from weak. There is a simply beautiful white-flowers bouquet with some fruit and winemaking complexities detectable, leading to a palate which is limpid in its purity, harmony and balance: pale stonefruits, lightly mealy, subtle limestone minerality. One could drink a lot of this. Cellar 2-6 years.
Geoff Kelly, WineNZ, Spring 08
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2007 - 5 stars
I've always loved this wine - it comes up to the mark every vintage. It has beautifully focused fruit flavours (grapefruit, nectarine and white peach) that are exquisitely enhanced by sensitive winemaking to add bran biscuit and hazelnut flavours to the mix. Serious Chardonnay that promises to age well. I always plan to keep a few bottles for five years but rarely hang onto them after one.
Bob Campbell, Bobs Wine Reviews Sep 08
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2007 - 5 stars
Like a chrysanthemum unfolding 100 perfect petals, the wine opens up a whole new world for your tastebuds as it oozes ripe grapefruit, toasty oak and concentrated mealy, peachy flavours. Craighall cements itself as one of New Zealand's Super Classics.
Yvonne Lorkin, Times Age, 24 Jan 09
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2006 - 5 stars
No 1 Wine in Cuisine Magazine May 2008
Annual Chardonnay Tasting
Our top Chardonnay is all harmony, free from any prima donna oak or primary fruit solos. Stonefruit and citrus notes are joined by spicier, date scone flavours. This is a classy, concentrated expression of the classic variety, underscored by lively acidity. It never overreaches itself - an aristocrat with the common touch. John Saker, Cuisine May 08
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2006 - 97 points Concentrated, creamy Chardonnay that’s a medley of lovely subtle flavours: citrus and tree fruit with a suggestion of roasted nuts, bran biscuit, sizzled butter and good use of oak. Very linear with a finish that goes on forever. Good drinking now or in the next four years. Gourmet Traveller WINE Jul 2008
93 points The fabulous 2006 Craighall Chardonnay displays subtle, beautifully interwoven oak (25% new), and the palate is imbued with exquisite harmony with delicate tropical notes of nectarine and peach. This is a sublime Chardonnay abounding with great finesse and style. Neal Martin, e-RobertParker.com April 2008
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2006
From a 20-year old Chardonnay block opposite Ata Rangi's home vineyards, this Martinborough wine shows typically lush Kiwi style. Syrupy, peachy fruit, mealy complexity and a good dose of spicy oak head things up in generous style, and it tastes unctuous, ripe and smooth with a fine, tangy finish. Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Melbourne Age, 4 Mar 2008
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2006
A stylish wine, understated, elegant and charming, fragrant with hints of stone fruit, citrus and tropical fruit, and a suggestion of nuts. Its texture, harmony and length, rather than in-your-face flavours, mark it as a fine wine. Charmian Smith, ODT, 20 Feb 2008
2006 Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay. (Martinborough) The nose on this wine was quite unique jumping out with fresh lychee, honey, golden kiwifruit and honey dew melon also augmented by a fresh herbal component which we related to almost coriander. The palate exploded with buttery macadamia, fresh lychee and nectarine. Long, relaxed and well balanced with beautifully melded flavours and soft acids. Appealing and approachable 99/109
www.kiwiwinefanclub.co.nz
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2005
Total score 96; 5 stars. Fine-textured Chardonnay made with a light touch allowing tight mineral and stone fruit flavours to remain in centre-stage with subtle support from oak and yeast lees. It’s a pleasure to savour without the complication of food and even better with relatively light seafood dishes. The wine encapsulates subtle power.
Bob Campbell MW, Gourmet Traveller Wine Aug 07
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2004
Martinborough's Ata Rangi is one of the country's elite producers and it has a label to match - clean, stylish and contemporary, with discreet gold lettering and a slender gold border. It's a distinguished look that does justice to Ata Rangi's premium Chardonnay - a weighty but elegant wine, richly flavoured and textured with good cellaring potential.
Sunday Star Times April 2006
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2004
Intense butterscotch/caramel on the nose, following onto the palate with a fat mouth feel along with mealy rolled oats, muesli and vanilla. Another gorgeous wine from a long pedigree of Burgundian brilliance.
Mike East, Avenues Nov 2005
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2003 is one of the outstanding New Zealand Chardonnays from a 15-year old Martinborough vineyard - fragrant, silkily textured, rich with lovely creamy, nutty, beeswaxy, hints of caramel, all backed by lively fruit, and a bright, well balanced, long finish. Delicious now, but will develop over another year or more.
Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times 20 Oct 04
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2002
is the one that really takes my fancy. I've never been able to understand this wine in the past but the 2002 vintage is different. I smelt it. I tasted it. I wanted more.
Appealing from the outset with its honey gold colour, its creamy caramel aroma of ripe stonefruit and figs, it is rich, mealy, creamy smooth and savoury. There's a funky wild yeast influence with caramel, like caramel corn though nowhere near as sweet and layers of grapefruit, pineapple and melon with smoked savoury meats. A rich wine, a big-full-bodied wine, a mouthfilling wine, a wine you can just about eat. Awe-inspiring stuff, it’s very smart indeed. Delicious to drink now -but cellar if you want to; up to 2005 the winery recommends. Ata Rangi have joined the screwcap revolution so there's no fear of cork taint when you open the bottle, just beautiful chardonnay the way winemaker Oliver Masters intended.
The wine is made from Mendoza clone Chardonnay from the Craighall vineyard on the Martinborough Terrace, hand picked and whole bunch pressed into French oak, (35% new), with 100% malolactic fermentation and matured on yeast lees for 9 months. It's simply a gorgeous wine to hunt around for. You'll find it in top restaurants - if you see it order it, you won’t be disappointed - and at discerning wine stores. It costs about $38 on mail order from the winery and I've seen it up to $45 in retail. Is it worth the bucks? Most definitely.
Sue Courtney, www.wineoftheweek.com 14 Dec 03
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2002 **** 4 stars.
A beautifully balanced, understated wine with lively stone fruit, mealy, nutty, biscuity layers and a rich, opulent texture and long aftertaste.
Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times 10 Dec 2003
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2002 **** 4 stars.
Crisp acidity overrides some pleasing and quite complex flavours that include grapefruit and nutty oak. Quite long. Delicate.
Bob Campbell, Cuisine, Nov 2003
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2001 **** 4 stars.
Intense and soft-textured wine with strong grapefruit flavours together with an array of subtle winemaking influences such as sizzled butter, a mealy lees character and attractive spicy French oak. Classy wine with cellaring potential.
Bob Campbell, Cuisine, Jan 2003
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2001 is a wine of great elegance and harmony - but what else would you expect from this awesome operation?
Charles Gill, Daily News New Plymouth, 29 Oct 02
Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2001. This wine usually sells out quickly and this vintage will be no exception. There is ripe fruit & nectarines and a hint of apple & nuttiness, and lovely toasty oak making for a wonderfully complex whole.
Pippa MacKay, The Christchurch Press, 22 Aug 02
'Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2001 is another fine, long-established boutique winery and this wine is simply delicious with overtones of golden peaches, citrus, spice and nuts overlaid with hints of smoky oak and creamy butteriness. Harmonious, beautifully textured and balanced, with finesse, complexity and long aftertaste, it is one of New Zealand's finest chardonnays.'
Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times, 18 Sep 02
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PETRIE CHARDONNAY
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008 - 92/100
The Petrie Vineyard is slightly to the north of Martinborough and produces a flavoursome, almost exotic Chardonnay. Here there's an array of fruits that head all the way into the tropical spectrum, sweetly ripened and dressed in some fine French oak. The palate has a confident, savoury side to it, plenty of texture and weight, ripe peach flavour and a wash of spicy oak across the finish. 92 points. Nick Stock,
Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2010
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008
Showcasing the cool, minerally fruit of this higher Wairarapa vineyard, this is a pretty wine of vibrancy, structure and tension. It's a fresh, tight style with a wild honey and peach blossom lift to its grapefruit zest and white peach flesh. Judicious use of oak contributes subtle almond kernel and vanilla notes. 93 Points
Tyson Stelzer, Australia's WBM 100, April 09
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008
This is the extremely attractive little sister of Ata Rangi's revered Craighall Chardonnay, that has wonderfully pure peach and mandarin fruit seasoned with subtle toasty notes over a fresh seam of citrus and mineral. Jo Burzynska, NZ Herald 27 April 09
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008
There's no shortage of chardonnay in the world but few New Zealand versions taste as good as this beautifully balanced, creamy Wairarapa wine. Citrusy flavours balance the wine's creamy aroma and taste, and every sip leads you in the next one.
Joelle Thomson, Herald on Sunday 21 Dec 08
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008
Ata Rangi's less expensive Chardonnay made from fruit grown in Wairarapa applies the same high standards of winemaking as the top label. The wine has a gentle texture with lovely toasted nut and brioche flavours plus grapefruit and mineral. Classy wine with charm. Bob Campbell MW Wine Reviews, Dec 08
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008
This wine is a synthesis of the talented team at the tiny Ata Rangi winery in Martinborough and the grapes grown further north from a vineyard near Masterton.
It’s a stunning chardonnay. If you’re a fan of big buttery whites, you’ll love this wine, which tastes of all those familiar bells and whistles but has a linear subtlety about it too, adding another string to its tasty bow. Joelle Thomson, Mindfood Jan 09
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2007
Not produced due to severe spring frost
Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2006
Seductively fruity Chardonnay with guava, melon and ripe peach flavours together with a very subliminal oak and nutty yeast lees character. Silken-textured wine that is utterly charming and, at this price, a bargain. Bob Campbell MW
Ata Rangi 2002 Petrie Chardonnay****4 stars.
Fresh gingery lees with white peach and spicy oak flavours. Mouth-filling, attractive and complex Chardonnay with a long, pleasantly drying finish.
Bob Campbell MW, Cuisine, Nov 2003
Ata Rangi 2001 Petrie Chardonnay****4 stars.
'The 2001 vintage shows excellent weight and concentration, with strong grapefruit, lime and butterscotch flavours cut with fresh acidity.'
Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to NZ Wines 2003
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