2024 Palliser Estate Chardonnay, Martinborough

A fleshy, richer style of chardonnay but well managed with spicy oak influence, some slate-like minerality and well-judged freshness. It opens with vanilla cream and cinnamon, shows off stewed pear and delivers some pulpy lime characters, dashes of cedar and a flourish of faint lemon thyme, too. A polished expression with inherent complexity and straight-up charm. Drink 2026 to 2034.

95 points Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion, February 2026

Rich and layered, with aromas of poached peaches, pears and hints of fresh almonds, cream and pastry. Tense, mouthwatering and generous in flavor, it has a medium to full body with a core of delicious stone fruit and and a flavorful finish. Sustainable. Drink or hold. 

93 points James Suckling, October 2025

Palliser Estate has been making the case for Martinborough since the 1980s. Known for producing elegant wines with a distinct sense of place, Palliser has long been one of the region’s benchmark estates. The vineyards have been under full organic management from 2025, and chief winemaker Guy McMaster approaches the vineyards and the winemaking as parts of one philosophy: look after the land and it looks after you.

The 2024 Estate Chardonnay is primarily an expression of their Woolshed vineyard, with the balance from Om Santi adding a fine minerality and backbone to the blend. Handpicked, whole bunch pressed and fermented by wild yeasts directly in French oak barrels. Ten months of lees stirring on selected barrels builds texture and complexity before racking to tank and bottling in March 2025.

The 2024 is ripe and expressive — golden peach, nectarine, vanilla cream and cinnamon on the nose with beurre noisette, almond meal and a slate-like minerality threading through. There's a faint waft of lemon thyme that lifts everything. The palate is full and rounded yet kept honest by a clean, mouthwatering acid line that carries the stone fruit and toasty oak complexity to a long, polished finish. Fleshy and rich but well-managed throughout.

The wine's stone fruit richness and creamy texture are at their best with food where butter and acidity are already doing the work: seared scallop with cauliflower purée and brown butter, roast chicken with tarragon and crème fraîche or a Japanese-style miso-glazed cod with steamed rice.

Drink now through 2032.