Isabel Estate Pinot Gris
Pinot Gris really loves Marlborough. The Isabel Estate team always ensure that each vine is treated to the right amount of sunshine, for perfect harvests of superbly ripened Pinot Gris. This wine has rich aromas of nectarine, white pear, clover honey and hints of coconut.
Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc
Rabbit Ranch Pinot Gris
Pale straw coloured with a nose of sweet pear, apple and lifted spices such as lemon grass. A great mouth feel that is crisp and dry with minerality running through it. Seafood anyone?.
Isabel Estate Chardonnay
Isabel Estate Chardonnay exudes bright, ripe fruit such as grapefruit and lemon with upfront acidity. Complex aromas of sweet nuttiness, ripe figs and a touch of melon follow closely by with delicious nougat and caramel. Finish is creamy and lingering. Not one to miss.
Mount Difficulty Pinot Gris
The new vintage has resulted in aromas of white peach and pear blossom mingled with underlying crisp red apple notes. The palate displays ripe succulent peach notes, while the mid palate is full, creamy and well textured. The wine has a rich, spice infused finish.
Soumah Pinot Grigio
Soumah, named for its location 'South of Maroondah Highway', specialise in quality clonal selection. This latest Pinot Grigio is one to get your hands on. Textural, from time on lees, figs and pear show through with a hint of musk. - Bri, Vintage Cellars Little Bourke Street.
Greywacke Pinot Gris
An exotic Middle-Eastern mélange of poached quinces, sticky dates and tree-ripened figs, laced with vanilla bean, cardamom and hints of black licorice. This is a ripe, opulent expression of the pinot gris grape in a voluptuous off-dry style that has considerable concentration and a long, luscious finish. The three clones were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and whole-bunch pressed using very low maceration press cycles. The resulting juice was cold settled, then racked to fermentation vessels. Most of the juice went through a natural indigenous yeast fermentation in old French oak barriques and the balance was fermented in stainless steel tanks using cultured yeast. Towards the end of fermentation all the wine was transferred to stainless steel tanks where the fermentations were stopped, retaining 10 g/l residual sugar. The wine then spent a year on yeast lees (seven months in old barrels and the remaining time in stainless steel tanks) prior to blending and bottling. Kevin Judd is one of Marlboroughs pioneer winemakers whose career is intrinsically linked with the global profile of New Zealand wine. Kevin was born in England and grew up in Australia, where he studied winemaking at Roseworthy College and first made wine at Reynella in South Australia. He moved to New Zealand in 1983 and joined Selaks Wines. Subsequently, he became the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, a pivotal role during which he directed the companys first 25 vintages. In 2009 he established his own label, Greywacke, named after New Zealands prolific bedrock. The Name: New Zealand does not have a designated national rock, but if one was ever chosen it would have to be greywacke (pron: grey-wacky). This drab grey stone is found everywhere in New Zealand on the mountains, in the rivers, on the beaches. It consists of layers of hard, muddy grey sandstone alternating with thinner layers of darker mudstone (argillite). Technically the term greywacke refers to the sandstone (wacke is a German name for a type of sandstone), but it is also used as a general term for the entire rock.
Nanny Goat Vineyard Chardonnay
Amongst premier wine grape varieties, Chardonnay is the most divergent and most planted white wine grape in the world. Pale straw in colour, this well-crafted wine is rich and mouth filling. An exotic fusion of ripe yellow plums, white grapefruits, nuances of sweet baking spices, cream, and lightly toasted cashew nuts can be experienced in this wine. As the wine swirls in the glass, the nose is greeted with noticeable scents of citrus peel and ripe stone fruits, with an air of delicate florals. The palate is rich and filling on initial entry while the mid-palate adds fresh cream to the mix, before a brisk acidity leads to a nippy and clean finish. It is a flexible wine that pairs well with soft cheeses, scallops, or fish with herbs.
Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Sauvignon Blanc
A late ripening season has resulted in zesty gooseberry bound tightly in white floral aromas, with a hint of dried hay. Ripe gooseberry and savoury floral notes introduce the wine before moving into a linear flowing mid-palate. There is a nice touch of urgency with more herbs and quince notes on the finish. This wine is ideal for sensible summer evening drinking. Mt Difficulty Sauvignon Blanc will improve for 3-5 years given optimal cellaring conditions.