"Clean, nicely rounded and quite mouth-filling for Marlborough sauvignon blanc. A definitive style remaining, yet with the extra mouth-interest from Isabel's special site. Nicely ready, very food-friendly and with wide appeal."
Peter Saunders, F&B Magazine, April 2008
"Is all citrus, gooseberry and apple, well balanced with fresh acidity, and a good, mineral finish."
Graeme Barrow, Northern Advocate, 26th April 2008
"Not as assertive as some Marlborough sauvignons, this is fragrant with hints of tinned peas, ripe sweet, textural fruit that fills the mouth, and a long aftertaste."
Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times, 9th April 2008
"Thoroughly decent, clean and straight forward, a dry pinot gris with fleshiness. Almost subtle fruit tones, rounded off very well after a year. A style ready to be enjoyed over the next 18 months especially beside delicate food dishes where this pinot gris will underline such courses excellently."
Peter Saunders, F&B Magazine, April 2008
"Has mild pear and spice aromas and flavours, is soft, forward, and virtually dry. It's balanced, agreeable drinking."
Graeme Barrow, Northern Advocate, 26th April 2008
"Very pale pink, medium-bodied style, grown in the Isabel Estate vineyards. Lots of peachy, spicy flavour, with a sliver of sweetness and fresh acidity.
Winestate Magazine, May/June 2008
"Fruit gloss on impact delivers a lush character, refined by a steely nature. Mid palate feels sweet with fruit, nicely suave but always with that hint of steel in its bones. Quince fruit flavour persists right through, trailing off with a dry, flavour smeared trail at the very end. Classy."
Keith Stewart, 18 March 2008 92 Points
"... sweet tropical fruit tempered by a slatey, dry finish, the fragrance of it rich with pink and white flowers. This is a savvy with a rich softness to it and not too much tartness, which will please many. Even I, a notorious SB basher, could happily slug on this.
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, Australia, January 20075 Stars
"In the marketplace Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is expected to be fresh, tangy... and often quite sweet. Isabel's version of New Zealand's most famous wine is different, dry and complex with herby fruit, honeyed and minerally notes coupled to nutty complexity.
Food ideas: Goat cheese and tomato tarts
Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age Epicure, Melbourne, Tuesday 20 March 2007
"Pungent passionfruit and tropical, with a subtle touch of oadk. A big, in-your-face wine with flavour, character and mouthfeel." One of Huon Hooke's top wines.
"I found hints of asparagus too, which balance the ripe flavours. the palate is quite full and round, with alcohol providing some weight, and it finishes well balanced and with good length." Nick Bulleid MV
Gourmet Traveller Wine, Australia, Feb/Mar 2008
"This label has been a reliabel source of Marlborough Sauvignon for years, and the 2006 is on form, offering bold grapefruit and passion fruit aromas. Melon and fig join on the palate, underscored by a touch of grassiness. Soft, round and easy to drink, this is a summertime staple."
J.C., Wine Enthusiast Magazine, July 2007
Star Buy "Marlborough's stony, clay soil and sunny climate makes it ideal for sauvignon. This gorgeous, tropical fruit and nettle-spiked 2006 takes on the French at their own game."
Jane MacQuitty, The Times, May 2007
"A subdued, soft, funky, warm, rich style with a mealy, caramel influence, a departure from the typically high acid, tropical fruit, punchy, green-edged Marlborough savvies. There's a component of older oak and wild yeasts adding richness to the melon and stonefruit flavours and there's a wee burst of apple acidity on the slightly grainy finish."
Sue Courtney, www.wineoftheweek.co.nz, 6 July 2007
"There's a hint of Europe in the rich oily, nutty, marzipan-like and orange zest aroma and the oiliness carries through to the richly textured palate.
Oily but dry with a grainy, almost pithy character, the oily texture and the citrus acidity gives the wine a zingy intrigue. It's smells sweeter on the nose than it tastes, it is incredibly dry but has a mouthfilling richness nevertheless. I like this wine. It's interesting and it grows on me because it is so intriguing. There's some feijoa in there too. I imagine this would cellar exceptionally well.
Sue Courtney, www.wineoftheweek.co.nz, 27th April 2007"Label says dry and indeed it is! A concentrated Marlborough riesling, great with a fillet of fish or some tapas before dinner; a concentrated food-friendly wine with lots of determination - and a long life ahead."
Peter Saunders, Food & Beverage Magazine, New Zealand, April 2007
Slightly honeyed, mouthfilling wine with some complexity in a dry style with good balance and depth. Toasty and minerally.
WineState Magazine, Australis, 2007
88 Points
"It's a very good wine, clean and fruity and, fortunately, suggestive of a salty savouriness, the dry finish carrying a certain shelly appeal.
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, Australia, January 2007
"Nicely toned and structured wine, user-friendly and dry to suit food; a very enjoyable and accessible style suited to a wide range of courses. Isabel is one of the companies to have lifted the bar in Marlborough winemaking, showing what extra dimensions are available to wineries that take the trouble to focus on extra quality."
Peter Saunders, Food & Beverage Magazine, New Zealand, April 2007
5 Stars
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Isabel.
Isabel who?
Isabel necessary on a bike?
"Whenever I see the Isabel label I am always reminded of that school ground classic. But today the punch line should be changed to 'Isabel Pinot Gris. Really good wine'. Especially now that the Isabel Pinot Gris 2006 has been released and continues the high standard set by the prvious year's vintage.
Isabel Marlborough Pinot Gris 2006 is gorgeously expressive pinot gris, a refelction of the very good 2006 Marlborough vintage. It's aromatic
and floaral with a mealy, nutty yeast lees influence and hints of lemon sherbet and green grapes and a core of bright zesty citrus - think kumquat. Quite a dry wine, just 4 grams per litre of residual sugar, but hte texture is full and fleshy, there is a vibrant spiciness and yeast lees flavours add complexity to the lingering finish. It's rather exciting and shows that pinot gris can have flavour.
Do I like it? I answer an emphatic, 'yes'. In fact I give it 5 stars.
Sue Courtney, www.wineoftheweek.co.nz, April 26th 2007
Savoury nose with a red berry lift...gamey notes and touch of spice on a fresh, clean palate.
WineState Magazine, Australia, 2007
4 Stars, Placed 3rd out of 126 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc's
“… asparagus, gooseberry. Crisp acidity, creamy, concentrated, well balanced.”
Decanter Magazine, UK, July 2006
5 Stars "...a finely scented wine, fresh, crisp and punchy, but not one-dimensional, with lovely passionfruit, lychee and pineapple
flavours, tight and long, and the barest hint of oak."
Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines, 2006 Edition
“Something different from the calcium-enriched soils of a special Marlborough vineyard site. Dry, flavoursome, oak-enhanced to provide a big wine from this grape and location, complex and dramatic. A glass for wine-lovers; positive with food and with a lot to say.”
Peter Saunders, Food & Beverage Magazine, New Zealand, Feb 2006
"Isabel’s version of NZ’s signature wine has an extra dimension compared to most peers. Elements of barrel fermentation and lees add restrained complexity to the herbal spicy and minerally notes. The
palate has subtle, vinous flavours that go beyond simple fruit and retain elegance, finishing long, fragrant and dry.
Food ideas: Grilled vegetables; mature goats cheese."
Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Melbourne Age Epicure Uncorked, Tuesday 11 July 2006
5 Stars "Very rich wine for a wine tasting almost dry, with concentrated fruit; young, leesy, generous and expansive. Texture reflects this depth and intensity. A special wine with even more to offer with time."
Peter Saunders, Winestate, Australia, 2006
Silver Medal
2006 San Francisco Wine Competition
"This was the most delicious of the 10 Pinot Gris I tasted for this column, possibly because it was the best balanced. I loved the
suggestion of ripe pears and peaches, melon and tropical fruit, but it's also a textural wine with a crisp, lingering aftertaste."
Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times, 8th March 2006"... with the Isabel Marlborough Pinot Gris 2005, I can find no faults... it's clean and fresh while beautifully displaying its varietal character..."
Sue Courtney, Wine of the Week, New Zealand, week ending 22nd January 2006
“Lots of structure, a big powerful wine, underlined by a low-crop regime andthe strong serious tone of Isabel wines anyway. No ordinary wine but one of longevity, with lots of minerally fruit-weight, a little citrus and oak. Hearty food will fit perfectly; will unfold further over another year or two as well."
Peter Saunders, Food & Beverage Magazine, New Zealand, Feb 2006
4 Stars "A fresh, alive style with light lime and plenty of mineral characters. Young chardonnay doing very well and approachable now but best still ahead"
Winestate Magazine, AustraliaMarch/April 2006
94 Points "Swoon. Schmooch. Sigh. This is what it's s'posed to be like in Pinot World. Luscious and viscous, spicy and totally seductive, there's no point in resisting; she slides all over your sesories like some wicked therapy oil, massaging every little worry away. I'd always thought Martinborough (North Island) was the sexiest NZ pinot site, but this beauty says the wide valley of Marlborough, in the South, can do it just as well"
Philip White, The Independent Weekly, Adelaide, March 24th - 30th 2007
5 Stars "Outstanding!"
Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines, 2006 Edition
90 Points "... took some time to open up, but when it did it was rather lovely ... the finish seemed minerally and attractive, the mid palate
softened and seduced, and its prospects for the cellar very good. "
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, Australia, January 2007
Highest rating wines - above $20
"Very good intensity of plum-like fruit, rich mouthfeel with good depth of developed earthy, spice, plum, caramel flavours."
National Liquor News, Australia, September 2007
91 Points "Hits this country's style like an arrow to the bull's eye. Fragrant as can be, with aromas of pineapple, passionfruit, tomatillo, fresh pea and wheat grass. If that's not enough, the palate is round and spotless with a tropical overload of sweet and tart tastes. Finishes long and precise, with radiant zest."
Wine Enthusiast Magazine, USA, July 2005
90 Points "This smooth, polished style has a wide range of citrus mineral and pineapple aromas and flavors...lasts impressively"
Wine Spectator Magazine, USA, June 2005
"Arguably the most singular of top New Zealand Sauvignons. As usual this powerful Sauvignon statement is just coming into it's own int he New Year. Power, grace, zip, zap, passionfruit, style and class. This wine is just starting to show it's true colours, it is absolute class."
Oz Clarke, The New York Times, Jan 05 
