\”The lovely Helen Masters, winemaker at Ata Rangi popped over to my place today, and we tasted through 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Ata Rangi and McCrone Vineyard Pinot Noir. Compare and contrast, and a fascinating tasting it was. I tasted this 2016 in NZ back in September 2017, pre-release, and compared my note with the one today. Same score. Similar notes. I like it when that happens. Ive published both notes, just for the record. September 2017 Spicy and perfumed with dried roses, flickers of liquorice root, sage and thyme, cherry and raspberry. Light to medium bodied, orange peel and spices, fresh with gummy and grainy tannin, freshness and vigour, and very good length. Its charsimatic, and likely to be very age-worthy. Like this a lot. 95 Points June 2018 Almost a roast red capsicum smell, and cinnamon spice, red fruits, dried rose petal, lead pencil oak, assorted dried herbs. Medium-bodied, finely etched, clarity and tension, a more minerally expression of Ata Rangi here, with kittens tongue tannin, brightly lit acidity, and long sappy orange peel finish. 95 PointsGary Walsh, The Wine Front, June 2018, Drink: 2020-2031+