The 2006 Chardonnay has good intensity on the nose with melted butter, mango and passion fruit. The palate is very buttery, lacking a little acidity, not dissimilar to a Napa style Chardonnay. Moderate length. Not bad but just a little “predictable”. Palliser Estate is one of Martinborough’s respected names, its first vines planted back in 1984. They presently have 85 hectares under vine with new Pinot Noir Dijon clones (115 and 667) beginning to add more complexity. The winemaker is Allan Johnson, who has overseen the winemaking since 1991 and was voted New Zealand Winemaker of the Year in 2002. Due to time restraints I was unable to visit the estate, so the following notes were all taken single blind in Martinborough and the quality in their superb Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir shone brightly.Importer, Negociants USA, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 259-0993; fax (707) 259-1510