ATA RANGI CÉLÈBRE SYRAH / MERLOT 2024

Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"The nose greets you with intense aromas of plush fruits of boysenberry and blueberry. Along with more spicy notes of brandy snaps and red liquorice this wine completely saturates the senses. Bright fine and supple, the fruit here is perfectly balanced by fine chalky tannins. This Célèbre is a beautifully poised wine that typifies what late varieties can achieve with a long dry autumn in a cool region. Drink now or cellar for 20 years.

The Merlot and Malbec were fermented together, with a preferment maceration of around 4-6 days until indigenous yeasts completed the fermentation over ten to twelve days. The fermenters are then closed up and the wine is left to slowly macerate with the skins for a further 10 days. The Syrah which ripens earlier is fermented separately with a shorter fermentation period to keep it bright and floral. Cabernet Franc a combination of older and younger vines adds an exotic high note to the blend. Aged in French oak for 22 months prior to bottling to soften the tannins and allow the wine to slowly open and evolve.

The 2024 vintage: arguably the best in 45 years we have been growing grapes. A wet winter was followed by drying winds and spring frosts. Fewer bunches materialised on the shoots, but a good flowering and fruit set resulted in small but fully formed bunches. A glorious summer followed by a dry autumn, with marked diurnal shift, warm days and cool nights this afforded beautiful skin and tannin ripeness, with perfect acidity. An excellent vintage that has materialised exciting wines with great longevity."

Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, June 2026 (2024 Vintage)
"Classic, distinctive, complex and enticing wine with a bouquet of berry through dark red fruits of plum and blackcurrants, blackberries and crushed violets. Layers of spice with a light peppercorn quality, wood smoke and earth-smoke of red clays and stone. A dry textured wine touches the palate with a core of dark red berry fruits, firm textures from fruit then wood tannins, plenty of acidity with alight saline touch. Delicious, fresh and dry with a lengthy urgent youthful finish. Best drinking from 2029 through 2039."