Three weeks in New Zealand - 4/12 - 5/4/2024

Day 11-Wine Tasting at Palliser Estate, Martinborough- 4/21/2024

Palliser Estate is a hallmark of Martinborough winemaking, celebrated for its elegant tasting experience, vineyard setting, and sustainable ethos. Located at the heart of Martinborough and nestled among 178 acres of vineyards spread across six estate sites on the famed Martinborough Terrace.

The Winery is like a park surrounded with manicured lawns, rose gardens, leafy courtyards, and outdoor seating under pergolas which is ideal for relaxed alfresco tastings and lunches.

Walkway leading to the entrance of the winery.

Entering the property.

Map of the Palliser Estate.

Right at the entrance there is a sleek beautiful long bar with clean lines, framed in dark timber that match the winery’s minimalist, earthy aesthetic. It's designed to feel intimate, drawing your focus to the wine and the interaction with the host.  However, there are too many visitors so they took us to another room for wine tasting instead of the bar.

We shared a table with the people on our tour.  We got the Classic Tasting which is a guided tasting of five estate-grown wines. Tastings runs about 40 minutes.

We started with a Palliser Estate Rosé 2023 described as a gorgeous, Provençal-style Rosé made of 100% Martinborough Pinot Noir. Perfect for summer sipping. The 2023 Rosé is rich and creamy with fabulous flavor concentration. Freshly cut flowers, summer berries and a dollop of whipped cream on the palate, the finish is long, pristine and perfectly balanced.

Next we are tasting the Riesling, A concentrated, juicy and vibrant style of Riesling with aromas of fresh lime, Granny Smith apple, mandarin and white floral. It’s bone-dry and lip-smackingly tart, with citrus fruit and minerality invigorating your taste buds. 

Next we are tying the Sauvignon Blanc, an iconic Martinborough style of Sauvignon Blanc with vibrant tropical and citrus fruit characteristics.

Finishing the tasting with the 2023 Pinot noir, a savory, structured and beautifully layered Pinot Noir, with a nose of black and red cherries, raspberry, mulberry, dusky floral, anise and freshly mown summer hay. The palate is silky and supple, full of black forest fruits with dried herb complexity.

Overall, they have good wines, the staff were pleasant and gave a lot of information and they also very knowledgeable.

The property is really gorgeous and must be very pleasant to sit out when the weather is nice.

Right across you wan see the vineyard.

The winery

Fall in New Zealand are from March to May.  We are in April now so right in the middle of fall and you can definitely see the colors of the leaves changing from green to yellow.

The property is really big.

NEXT... Moy Hall Winery