Martinborough is a small but highly regarded New Zealand wine region and, with Marlborough and Central Otago, one of the addresses most associated with the country's earthy, elegant pinot noir.
Pinot noir has proven hugely successful in New Zealand in a very short time — national plantings doubled between 2003 and 2013 — and winemakers at top estates such as Ata Rangi and Dry River began experimenting with pinot noir clones only in the late 1980s, so growers are still discovering which sites and methods suit it.
Ata Rangi's Clive Paton was given cuttings of what became known as the Gumboot or Abel Clone, now behind some of the country's leading pinot noirs.
As everywhere in New Zealand, the cool maritime climate — no vineyard is more than 80 miles from the sea — lets fruit ripen evenly and gently over a long season and preserves a good amount of natural acidity.
