Wine of the week: The finest pinot noir vintage ever

2010 Ata Rangi, Pinot Noir, Martinborough, New Zealand (about £42.99, Carruthers & Kent, 0191-213 1818; Halifax Wine Co, 01422-256333; Divine Fine Wines, 0121-745 6999; Hedonism, 020-7290 7870; Philglas & Swiggot, 020-7924 4494; North & South Wines, 020-7228 2431; Wine Reserve, 01932-866682; Guildford Wine Co, 01483-560647).

There's a good chance that I was the first person in the UK to taste a wine from Ata Rangi way back in 1987. Alison Paton, sister of Clive, the visionary founder of the company, gave me a half bottle of a gewrztraminer that they made way back in 1987 when we worked together at the legendary Barnes Wine Shop. So much has changed since then.

This estate, meaning Dawn Sky', makes the most revered pinot noir in New Zealand. In my annual The Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification' (watch out for the 2013 edition coming free to my website very soon), Ata Rangi is a Five Star estate.

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

I have just come back from two weeks in New Zealand, tasting more than 500 wines for this year's Classification, and it is not giving the game away to say that Ata Rangi's star rating is unchanged. The 2010 vintage from this world-class property is the finest vintage I have ever tasted. You must own this wine.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (www.matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006.

He has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.