Founded by Michael and Robyn Tiller in 1980, this is one of Marlborough’s oldest and most respected estates. In the early years they were contract grape suppliers to Cloudy Bay, but they established their own label in the mid-1980s, gradually growing their production and reputation through the 1990s. Michael finally left his career as an airline pilot in 2001, coincidental with the construction of a new winery at Isabel. This is very much a family affair, with Michael, Robyn and all four of their children working here.

The vines, which are amongst the oldest in the Wairau Valley, are a mixture of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Pinot Noir, planted on free-draining gravels with a belt of water-retentive clay in the subsoil. The growing season is generally cool, with mild springs and warm, sunny autumns allowing the grapes to develop aroma. There is a regime of close vine planting here, twice the normal density of Marlborough, and the vineyard is subjected to a sustainable husbandry, with only organic mulches being used, and a minimum of spraying. The grapes are hand-harvested.

Twenty percent of the hand-harvested Sauvignon Blanc fruit is fermented in small, French oak barrels to give a subtle, creamy weave to the palate. The style of the wines produced at Isabel aims for subtlety and complexity – none of the exaggerated tropical fruit aromas too often found in Marlborough, a style which is now gaining currency elsewhere.

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ISABEL ESTATE Marlborough

Single

6+

2021  SAUVIGNON BLANC

      19.95

        18.50

2021  PINOT GRIS

      19.95

        18.50

2019  CHARDONNAY

     21.95

       20.95

2019  PINOT NOIR

        26.50

        24.95

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