New Customers Save $20 off $100+* with code APRILNEW
New Customers Save $20* with code APRILNEW
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Palliser Estate Pinot Noir 2005
Winemaker Notes
Deep red colour. Ripe concentrated red and dark berry fruits with ripe plum aromas, a touch of leather and toasty oak. Soft full and long flavour with intense sweet-ripe fruit and tannins in a focused structure. Soft lingering finish with long flavour length. A beautiful wine.
"Far and away the best Palliser Pinot Noir we've ever reviewed, the 2005 boasts complex, savory aromas and flavors that match ripe black cherry and plum fruit with peppery-herbal notes and hints of smoke, meat and brown sugar. The creamy, supple tannins are balanced by crisp acids and concentrated fruit on the long finish. Drink now–2015."
-Wine Enthusiast
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Part of the Wairarapa region in the southern end of the country’s North Island, Martinborough is a bucolic region full of artisan, lifestyle wine producers. Above all else, their goals are to tend vineyards for low yields and create wines of supreme quality. Pinot noir is the main grape variety here, occupying over half of the land under vine.
Comparing topography, climate and soils, the region is nearly identical to Marlborough except that it produces top quality reds on the regular.
One of the most difficult yet rewarding grapes to grow, Pinot Noir is commonly referred to by winemakers as the “heartbreak grape.” However, the greatest red wines of Burgundy prove that it is unquestionably worth the effort. More reflective than most varieties of the land on which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate, requires low yields to achieve high quality, and demands care in the vineyard and lots of attention in the winery. It is an important component of Champagne and the only variety permitted in red Burgundy. Pinot Noir enjoys immense popularity internationally, most notably in Oregon, California, and New Zealand.
In the Glass
Pinot Noir Is all about red fruit—strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. It is relatively pale in color with soft tannins and lively acidity. It ranges in body from very light to the heavier side of medium, typically landing somewhere in the middle—giving it extensive possibilities for food pairing. With age (of which the best examples can handle an astounding amount), it can develop hauntingly beautiful characteristics of fresh earth, autumn leaves, and truffles.
Perfect Pairings
Pinot’s healthy acidity cuts through the oiliness of pink-fleshed fish like salmon, ocean trout, and tuna. Its mild mannered tannins don’t fight with spicy food, and give it enough structure to pair with all sorts of poultry—chicken, quail, and especially duck. As the namesake wine of Boeuf Bourguignon, it can even match with heavier fare. Pinot Noir is also very vegetarian-friendly—most notably with any dish that features mushrooms.
Sommelier Secret
Pinot Noir is dangerously drinkable, highly addictive, and has a bad habit of emptying the wallet. Look for affordable but still delicious examples from Germany (as Spätburgunder), Italy (as Pinot Nero), Chile, New Zealand, and France’s Loire Valley and Alsace regions.