Palliser Estate Om Santi Chardonnay, Martinborough

Description

Palliser Estate Om Santi Chardonnay is an elegant, single-vineyard organic Chardonnay from Palliser’s Om Santi vineyard. Handpicked with minimal intervention, it offers vibrant white peach, grapefruit, apple and hazelnut aromas, unfolding into a rich, poised palate of nougat, praline, vanilla toast, intense minerality and creamy lees-driven texture. Great with seafood, poultry, creamy pastas, or on its own.

Palliser Estate: Martinborough Wine Pioneers

Founded in the mid-1980s, Palliser Estate has become one of the leading producers in the Martinborough wine region, known for its focus on quality and sustainability. The first grapes at Palliser Estate were planted in 1984, with the first commercial wines released in 1989 and the first exports following in 1991. Today, the estate covers approximately 92 hectares (around 228 acres) of vineyards, primarily planted with Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, alongside some Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris.

Palliser Estate Vineyards

The vineyards are located on the “Martinborough Terrace,” a small yet unique area of land at the southern end of the North Island. This terrace, framed by the Ruamahanga and Huangarua Rivers, was shaped centuries ago by the rivers. The soil is a stony silt loam overlaying varying depths of ancient, free-draining river gravels. There are seven vineyards in total, all within walking distance of each other: Clouston, Collins, Palliser, Om Sancti, Wharekauhau, East Base, and the Winery Vineyards.

Palliser Estate Om Santi Chardonnay

The Palliser Estate Om Santi 9-hectare vineyard is the estate’s original vineyard with gravel soil 10 metres deep. The old riverbed stones gives a minerality and stone fruit quality to Om Santi that produces superb wines. This vineyard was converted to organic management in 2018, further adding to the rich earthiness of the wines and the quality of the soil.

Winemaking

• 100% of the fruit is sourced from the organic Om Santi vineyard.
• The fruit is handpicked.
• Grapes are whole bunch pressed directly into French oak barrels.
• The new oak component is 23%.
• Fermentation is carried out by indigenous vineyard yeast.
• The wine receives occasional stirring (bâtonnage) to add texture and complexity.
• The blend consists of 31% Clone 15 Chardonnay and the balance (69%) Clone 95.
• After 12 months of ageing, the wine was bottled lightly fined and unfiltered.

Sustainability & Good Vineyard Practices

Palliser Estate places great importance on good vineyard practices, more so than many others. They train their vines to achieve low canopy density and well-exposed fruit. This, combined with careful leaf plucking, produces the distinctive fruit flavours in their wines. The grapes are harvested at their optimum maturity and processed to preserve the inherent fruitiness of each varietal. Palliser Estate is deeply committed to sustainability and was the first winery in the world to be awarded ISO 14001-2004 Certification, signifying its adherence to a sustainable environmental management system.