About this WINE
Isabel Estate
Isabel Estate was established by Mike and Robyn Tiller in 1980 with the ambition of producing premium, classic grape varieties in Marlborough, New Zealand's largest wine area, which is situated at the top of the South Island. Prior to the 1994 vintage, Isabel Estate supplied Marlborough’s leading wine producers - including Cloudy Bay - with grapes, but since then has produced its own single-vineyard wines. The estate is now owned by the Australian drinks company, Pinnacle, which has focused on investment in the vineyards and winery since it took over in 2014. Ex-Villa Maria winemaker Jeremy McKenzie is now in charge of the wines and is dedicated to ensuring the high quality that is synonymous with this estate.
Located in the Wairau Valley area of Marlborough, Isabel Estate benefits from extensive sunshine hours combined with a long, cool growing season. The site itself is unusual for Marlborough, combining free-draining gravels with a narrow layer of clay in the subsoil, preventing excess water loss from the gravel.
Concentration is achieved through densely planted vines, double the usual number in Marlborough. Sustainable viticultural practices are used, including mulching and organic fertilisers to maintain soil nutrition. The cool, dry climate allows sprays to be kept to a minimum.
From the outset, Isabel set a new trend among Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc producers – a style now being adopted elsewhere. Twenty percent of the hand-harvested fruit is fermented in small, French oak barrels to give a subtle, creamy weave to the palate.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
Understated and delicate, this chardonnay introduces you to stone fruit and flowers at the outset. Some richer complexity of nuts and caramel are evident and perhaps evidence of the 100% old barrel ferment. Only some barrels are allowed to complete malo-lactic fermentation, the withheld portion necessary to maintain the freshness and acidity in what is a fruit-first palate. With some lees stirring during its nine months maturing in oak barrels, the wine maintains a fresh finish that’s all about complex fruit.
Richard Veal - Senior Wine Advisor
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee