Isolation Ridge Shiraz
2009 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Ray Jordan The West Australian Wine Guide
"This wine has just got better and better over the past few years. Another ripper with that typical savoury dark red fruit aroma dusted with a kick of parched earth. Spicy and slightly peppery but with excellent fruit sweetness supported by good tannin structure. Builds in the mouth to a sustained finish."
2012
2009 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Jeremy Oliver - The Australian WIne Annual
"A very stylish and convincing Rhôney style of some class. Its fresh perfume of violets, briar, small dark berries, plums and fresh cedary oak is backed by musky nuances of spice and charcuterie meats. Rather smooth and brightly lit with pristine small berry flavours, meaty undertones and fine, crunchy tannins, it finishes long and savoury with lingering hints of musk and menthol."
2012
2009 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Dr Graig Drummond - On the Grapevine
"The 2009 Isolation Ridge Shiraz is a very full bodied style, dense and dark, with savoury and cedary aromas, intense flavours of black fruits, wild herbs and cinnamon spice, with a youthful briary edge which will soften quickly. A wine that will optimize in 2 to 3 years, but worthy of long cellaring thereafter."
December 2011
2008 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
James Halliday - Australian WIne Companion
"Young and unevolved bouquet, showing a little reduction in the form of burnt rubber; the fruit in undeniable however, with blackberry in abundance, framed by savoury roasted meat character and elements of dried herbs; tannic and tightly wound, time is definitely warranted. "
2011
2008 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Ray Jordan WA Wine Guide
"Just gorgeous perfumed notes of fresh cedar, red berry and light savoury plum, sprinkled liberally with enticing spices. The palate is wonderfully controlled with a fine tannin and oak balance supporting the medium-weight but fully ripe and deeply concentrated fruit. This is a beauty and a most complete wine. "
2011
2008 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Jeremy Oliver - The Australian Wine Annual
"This fragrant, spicy and fine-grained shiraz made in a northern Rhône style has a sweetly fruited, confiture-like perfume of raspberries, blackberries and restrained cedar/vanilla oak whose floral lift is such that you would bet on the presence of viognier. An elegant palate of fresh dark berries, cherries and plums is backed by charcuterie-like, forest floor undertones and a loose-knit spine of firmish tannins, finishing long and savoury."
2011
2008 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Nick Stock - WIne 100
"A wine to impress simply because its so authentic. Lovely ripe plums and spice dusted dark berries, some sanguine earthy nuances lurking below. The palate has impressively elegant intensity with plenty of blackberry and pepper flavour, the tannins spread even and long."
March/April 2011
2007 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Stephen Tanzer - International Wine Cellar
" Inky ruby. Brooding aromas of cassis, cherry pit and licorice, with slow-building floral and spice qualities. Deep, chewy dark fruit flavors are youthfully clenched and take a while to open up, eventually offering a bright, spicy quality and a hint of candied violet. Firm tannins add grip to the finish, which leaves floral and spice notes behind. By all means give this some cellar time. "
Issue 151, July/August 2010
2007 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Campbell Mattinson The Wine Front
"The folks at Frankland Estate have been growing grape vines in the region since the late 1980s. Its a gorgeous region but isolated. Frankland Estate has helped put it on the map. This review of Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Shiraz is Walshs review from the Big Red Wine Book 2010/11. I have just retasted it and am in complete agreement, though I have upped it a point. One of those dark as night wines, in terms of its colour. Flavours of pepper, blackberry, mineral and cedary oak. Some liquorice and tar. Plenty of power, good length and a slick of tea-like tannin as you swallow mark it as a serious wine, though a little brutish (though on re-tasting in 2011 it had mellowed considerably). What it really needs is a rest in a cool, dark place for a few years. "
24 June 2011
2006 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Tim White - "The Australian Financial Review"
"Satsuma plum-smelling and peppery; plus other mace-like spiciness. Attacks really peppery and builds dry, brick, dusty tannins. There's those plums again as well as dried citrus peel and sweet-savoury prosciutto-like flavours. The best Frankland Estate red I've tasted in a long time."
27-29 March 2009 Issue
2005 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
James Halliday - "Australian Wine Companion 2009 Edition"
"The best Isolation Ridge for years; generous black fruits with a dusting of spice and pepper are supported by fine tannins and good oak. Screwcap."
2009
2005 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Ray Jordan - Guide to Wine 2008
"Impressive wine. Complex bouquet of spicy savoury shiraz crammed with lots of mocha coffee characters. Seamless and beautifully balanced palate with fine-grained slightly sinewy tannin, nice oak and plenty of delicious fruit. Still a pup but with great promise."
2008
2005 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Spice Magazine - Winter
"Isolation Ridge again shows us why this plot of land can produce stella wines. A whole booty of characters ranging from perfumed floral to pastille through to a throng of succulent berries. This ink-pot chunky wine requires attention to fully appreciate its complexity. The mouth feel heaves assertive tannins into rich company for a great price."
2004 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Jay Miller - Robert Parker "Wine Advocate" # 181 magazine
"... a bright cherry red with an excellent perfume of pepper, underbrush, blueberry, and black cherry. Made in an elegant style (a very different expression than Shiraz from Barossa and McLaren Vale), it has plenty of racy, ripe red and blue fruit, excellent balance, and a pure finish. It will blossom over the next 3-5 years and offer prime drinking from 2012 to 2024."
February 2009
2004 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Top 100 Enthusiast Wines for 2008
""
2004 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Scoop Magazine - WA Essential Lifestyle Guide
"A wonderfully stylish shiraz from the Great Southern with intense peppery character bursting out of the glass. The wine is very fine and spicy in flavour - not a blockbuster, but the epitome of elegance and refinement. This wine still looks youthful and will develop for many years in your cellar."
Winter 2008
2003 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
James Halliday - "Wine Companion 2007 Edition"
"Elegant medium-bodied, counter-cultural style; dark fruits and excellent texture and structure from the fine tannins running through its length; perfect acidity. Screwcap."
2007
2002 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Tanzer Review
"Dark Ruby. High-pitched and precise on the nose, with spicy blackberry, cocoa and coffee aromas and a touch of mint. Chewy and structured, with sweet, juicy dark berry flavors accented by dried herbs. The long finish features chocolate and berry flavors and fine, dusty tannins."
September 2005
1999 Isolation Ridge Shiraz
Philip White - 2001 Top 100
"I have enjoyed tasting this characterful, yet elegant shiraz throughout the year, and it was no surprise that my prejudice had me select it here. It is like a Chateauneuf-du-Pape from a cool region, which is of course impossible. Boisterous blackberry and fireplace smells open the game, and then comes a slender, elegantly-structured palate that rolls on and on, showing fine tannin and refreshing, natural-looking acidity. I look forward to savouring it from a Burgundy balloon in about 2005. It gives me reason to live."
November 2001