2022 Palliser Estate Pinot Noir, Martinborough

Light-tinted, supple pinot noir with cherry, fresh herb, raspberry, chestnut and spicy oak flavours. Elegant wine in a relatively light style and with surprising power and a backbone of peppery tannins 04 Oct 2023 Drink 2023–2031

93 points Bob Campbell MW therealreview.com

Palliser Estate Pinot Noir from Martinborough is a flagship expression of both the estate’s pedigree and the region’s world-class reputation for Pinot. Grown in the cool, coastal-influenced Wairarapa subregion at the southern tip of New Zealand’s North Island, this wine is all about finesse, structure, and site-driven character. It’s a serious, cellar-worthy Pinot Noir crafted with precision and a deep respect for the land.

Palliser Estate is one of the founding wineries of Martinborough’s modern era, established in the early 1980s and among the first to recognise the region’s potential for Burgundian varieties. Today, the estate is a leader in organic and sustainable viticulture, with all vineyards either certified organic or in conversion.

The fruit for this wine is hand-harvested from Palliser’s best vineyard parcels, fermented with a mix of wild and cultured yeasts, and matured in a selection of fine French oak barrels. It’s a wine built from the ground up—layered, textural, and deeply expressive of Martinborough’s unique terroir of alluvial gravels and cool, dry conditions.

Aromatically, it offers notes of dark cherry, wild raspberry, rose petal, and savoury forest floor, with hints of clove and graphite. On the palate, it’s supple and detailed, with silky tannins, bright acidity, and a long, elegant finish that carries flavours of red fruit, spice, and crushed herbs. It’s both graceful and structured—built to age but drinking beautifully now.

Palliser Estate Pinot Noir is a benchmark wine for Martinborough and a must-try for lovers of serious, cool-climate Pinot Noir with a sense of place.