In October 1999 the Palandri Wines site was nothing more than farmland on which cows were grazed.
Three months later the land had been transformed into a state-of-the-art, modern winery, capable of processing 1,500 tonnes of fruit a year. In its first vintage in 2000, the winery crushed 711 tonnes. This grew to a crush of 2,500 tonnes in 2001 and 3,518 tonnes in 2003. The production and barrel maturation facilities are now capable of processing 4,500 tonnes of fruit annually.
The winery has been specifically designed for small batch processing. This creates the opportunity to isolate the best fruit that can be obtained and then turn into very special wines. Complementing the stainless steel fermentation and storage facilities is a state-of-the-art wood maturation cellar, housed in a specially designed sealed and insulated area of the winery in which temperature and humidity are controlled.
The foundation of the maturation cellar has been built around a combination of new and used American Oak and French Oak barrels.
The high-tech Palandri winery was constructed specifically to allow small-batch and individual vineyard processing. This approach provides a multitude of blending options, as well as a thorough understanding of the quality and character of individual vineyards.
Fermentation
Grapes receive a brief trip through a Vaslin Delta E4 crusher before being placed in one of Palandri's twenty-two fermenters, with capacities ranging in size from 9 to 63 tonnes. Chief Winemaker Sarah Siddons finds that using a combination of static and A&G rotary fermenters yields the most favourable results. Rotary fermenters produce wines with superior colour extraction, an abundance of primary fruit aromas and flavours, and softer, richer, tannins; static fermenters produce more complex, less reductive wines with more developed, structured tannins. By blending wines from both types of fermenters, Siddons produces beautifully textured, well-balanced, complex wines.
Blending
Under Chief Winemaker Sarah Siddons, a Palandri winemaking style that emphasizes intensity, finesse, structure, and the distinctive qualities of Western Australian fruit has emerged. With numerous small lots to choose from, the winemaking team has the ability to blend wines from different regions, which guarantees consistent high quality. Frankland River wines are generally quite stylish-tighter and more structured, with intense, berry fruit flavours and fine tannins. Margaret River fruit tends to make bigger, more generous wines, with fleshy mouth feels. Siddons skilfully combines batches from Margaret River's warmer maritime climate with lots that have benefited from Frankland River's long, cool ripening period, to produce complete, complex wines with superior flavour intensity and palate structure.
Barrel Aging
Palandri owns approximately 2,000 oak barrels, known as barriques. 50% of the barrels are made from American oak and 50% from French oak, from forests in Alliers, Vosges, and Tronçais. Most of Palandri's barrels are Medium Toast, with a smattering of Medium Toast Plus and Heavy Toast added for "seasoning."