2022 Aratoro Chardonnay, Isabel Estate

Name: 2022 Aratoro Chardonnay, Isabel Estate
Brand: Wine Republic
Price: 62.95 GBP
Availability: InStock

Marlborough, New Zealand

The Winemaker’s Journey

Aratoro, meaning path of discovery, is Jeremy McKenzie’s most personal expression of Chardonnay. Powerful yet poised, the nose reveals gunsmoke, white peach and nectarine layered with lemon zest and a whisper of flint. The palate is structured and deeply textured, unfolding through roasted almond, brioche and grapefruit, with a mineral line that carries the wine long and precise. From 30+ year-old Mendoza clone vines, it balances richness with tension, finishing vibrant, complex and beautifully age-worthy.

For when: Chardonnay deserves centre stage.
Pairs with: roast chicken, lobster, or creamy mushroom dishes.
If this wine were a place: a quiet cellar where time moves slowly.

Founded in the Wairau Valley in 1980, Isabel Estate has long been regarded as one of Marlborough’s benchmark producers. Named after early Marlborough settler Isabel Sutherland, the estate quickly established a reputation for wines that capture the region’s vivid aromatics and clarity of fruit. The vineyards sit on ancient riverbed soils cooled by maritime breezes, ideal conditions for producing wines with both concentration and freshness.

Today, the wines are crafted by Chief Winemaker Jeremy McKenzie, whose philosophy centres on minimal intervention and precise vineyard work to allow each site to express itself clearly. While Isabel is widely known for Sauvignon Blanc, those in the know often point to the estate’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as its most compelling wines, combining Marlborough brightness with Burgundian finesse and structure. The Aratoro range represents the pinnacle of that vision, small batch wines shaped by McKenzie’s journey through some of the world’s great wine regions.

Whats in the bottle
100% Chardonnay

£62.95 - £62.95

£62.95

£62.95 - £62.95

£62.95

Availability:

In stock

Producer Information

Founded in the heart of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley, Isabel Estate is widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s benchmark producers of Sauvignon Blanc and aromatic whites. Established in 1980 and named after Isabel Sutherland, an early settler of the region, the estate quickly earned a reputation for wines of remarkable purity and precision. With vineyards rooted in ancient riverbed soils and cooled by maritime breezes, Isabel Estate produces wines that capture the vivid aromatics and freshness that made Marlborough famous.
The wines are crafted by Chief Winemaker Jeremy McKenzie, one of Marlborough’s most respected talents, whose philosophy centres on careful vineyard work and minimal intervention to allow each site’s character to shine through.
Yet Sauvignon Blanc is only part of the story. Among those who know the estate well, Isabel’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are often considered its finest wines, combining Marlborough brightness with Burgundian finesse and texture. These wines remain something of a hidden treasure, frequently overlooked in the shadow of Marlborough’s iconic Sauvignon Blanc, but offering depth, elegance and complexity that reveal the true breadth of what the region can achieve.

Winemaking

The hand picked fruit was whole bunch pressed to gently extract the juice without phenolic pick up. A short cold settle period followed before the wine was transferred to French oak barrels for fermentation which can continue until the start of Winter. The is fermented 100% with wild, native yeasts fermentation in a mix of 500 L puncheons and 225 L barrels with 35% being new French oak. The wine undergoes natural malolactic fermentation in the spring and the wine is blended late spring prior to the picking of the next vintage after a whole 12 months in barrel.

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