Palliser Estate The Griffin 2022 750ml

Palliser Estate The Griffin 2022 is a traditional method sparkling wine from Martinborough, made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and aged on its yeast lees for more than three years. It is Palliser’s vintage methode, from a single year’s harvest, and it is 12.5% ABV.

Buy Palliser Estate The Griffin 2022 Online in New Zealand

Martinborough sits at the southern end of the North Island in the Wairarapa, a small, dry district better known for Pinot Noir. Palliser Estate is one of its established names, and The Griffin is its top sparkling, made the same way as Champagne with the second fermentation in the bottle. More than three years on lees gives it a yeasty, bready depth that younger sparkling wines lack.

Palliser’s own tasting notes:

Nose: Nectarine, citrus blossom, fennel, praline, sourdough and yellow-fleshed plum.

Palate: Crystalline and very fresh, with tension and pure orchard fruit, balanced by toasted-bread lees complexity and a creamy mousse. Powerful and focused.

Because it is a vintage wine, the 2022 on the label means every grape was picked that year, so the season’s character shows rather than being smoothed out by older reserve wine. That makes it a good bottle to compare against a non-vintage Champagne or another New Zealand methode side by side.

Serve at about 8 degrees in a tulip or white wine glass, which shows the aromas better than a narrow flute. Palliser recommends sushi, canapés, caviar and natural oysters. It also works with crayfish, paua fritters or a soft goat’s cheese. It is a smart choice for a celebration where you want to put a New Zealand sparkling on the table instead of Champagne. Drink it over the next few years, and keep it lying down somewhere cool and dark until then.