Isabel Estate Pinot Gris 2007

Isabel Estate was established in Marlborough's prestigious Wairau Valley in 1980 and boasts some of the oldest vines in the region. The Pinot Gris, which is sourced from the north-eastern corner of the estate, is a traditional dry style, supple, yet complex, with wonderful fruit ripeness.

"A fine, tight, and pleasingly dry wine with good mineral, pear and pineapple flavours. This is an excellent food wine with good acidity and a bone-dry finish. Offers value at the price."  Bob Campbell MW

"Due to a pre-ferment cold soak, the '07 Pinot Gris displays a gorgeous pale champagne hue in the glass.  The nose is complex and aromatic - tropical fruit, luscious lychees, almond and subtle rose. On the palate, rich nectar and apricot flavours are upfront with vanilla, white stonefruit and creamy nuts lingering on the finish. The mid-palate combines green apple and pear, which reiterates the Isabel style – fresh, clean and crisp.  Lees contact is apparent, offering lovely mouth feel.  A beautiful wine with natural oysters but also stands up to roasted pork and duck dishes."  Isabel Estate

Expert reviews

"A fine, tight, and pleasingly dry wine with good mineral, pear and pineapple flavours. This is an excellent food wine with good acidity and a bone-dry finish. Offers value at the price."  Bob Campbell MW, BobsWineReviews.com – 90 points

"Continuing the trend of the super 2007 vintage, this is fresh, bright spicy and slightly spritzy with zesty lime-infused, orange water scents. A little more complex and grown up with a day in the bottle, the spritziness has gone but the juicy pear fruit and zesty citrus are still there to balance the savoury nutty backbone. It's quite a 'classic' pinot gris - full of pear, quince and spice with a slightly grainy texture and mouthfilling warmth to the finish.."  Sue Courtney, www.wineoftheweek.com

"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

"Has mild pear and spice aromas and flavours, is soft, forward, and virtually dry. It's balanced, agreeable drinking."  Graeme Barrow, Northern Advocate

"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 

"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

About the winery

 In 1980, Mike and Robyn Tiller established Isabel Vineyard in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough. At the time, Michael was a pilot for Air New Zealand and had noticed on his regular flight path into Blenheim airport something special about one particular parcel of land on a north-facing slope. It was frost-free even on the chilliest of mornings, and had fertile soil and a unique aspect.

Mike’s airborne vision was the beginning of Isabel Estate, one of the pioneering Marlborough wineries. In the 1980s the couple planted Chardonnay, followed by Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. The chosen parcel of land delivered fruit of exceptional quality, and it wasn't long before it was in high demand from premium New Zealand wine producers.

After twelve years of growing for prominent New Zealand wine companies, it was a natural progression to try their own hand at winemaking – in the tractor shed. In 1994, they released their first wine, a single-vineyard Pinot Noir.

In 2001 Mike’s mother, Isabel, coerced him into abandoning his flying career to focus solely on Isabel Estate, including overseeing the development of a new state-of-the-art winery. In 2005, Sir Edmond Hillary opened the Isabel Estate Cellar Door.

In 2014, Isabel Estate became part of Pinnacle Drinks and invested in building storage and tanks, upgrading and replanting select vineyard lots and upgrading the winery.