This is the same Crimson bottling from Ata Rangi in Martinborough, at the southern tip of the Wairarapa. The estate sits on the Martinborough Terrace, a bed of free-draining alluvial gravels laid down by the Ruamahanga River, where thin topsoils and a dry, breezy mesoclimate hold yields low and concentrate flavour. Crimson is sourced mainly from younger estate blocks and fruit declassified from the top wines, farmed sustainably by the Paton family, who fund native reforestation through the Project Crimson trust that gives the wine its name. The 2024 season was warm and even in Martinborough, described by the estate as one of their best, delivering ripe, fragrant fruit with retained natural acidity.

Grapes were hand-harvested and mostly destemmed, with some whole-bunch inclusion for perfume, then wild-fermented in small open vats with gentle hand plunging. The wine was pressed off at moderate extraction and completed malolactic fermentation in barrel over the following spring. Élevage is shorter and lighter than the flagship, using seasoned French oak with a modest new-oak component, to preserve the wine's floral, red-fruited and lightly spiced character. Bottled as a medium-bodied, early-drinking style with gentle tannins and a lingering finish, it is intended as an accessible introduction to Martinborough Pinot Noir.