Ladies who Shoot their Lunch Wild Ferment Shiraz 2020
Style: Red Wine
Closure: Screwcap
Ladies who Shoot their Lunch Wild Ferment Shiraz 2020
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Critic Score: 95
Alcohol: 14.4%
Size: 750 ml
Drink by: 2032
Fowles is located in the hill country above Avenel in the rugged and beautiful Strathbogie Ranges. Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch is a collection of premium Australian wines inspired by the high-altitude environment of their 300-acre 'Upton Run' vineyard, which is dotted with massive ancient granite boulders. The Wild Ferment Shiraz, the flagship of the range, is meticulously crafted to complement the textures and flavours of wild food. It is vibrant in colour, intensely aromatic, and the pristine fruit flavours offer both power and restraint..
"The winemaker believes a wild ferment brings complexity and texture to a wine. Set against a particularly peppery background, the 2020 Wild Ferment shiraz delivers on both counts. Black pepper, five spice, woody spices, aniseed, blackberry, black cherry and earth. The palate is the thing, velvet-like in density, layered in concentrated Rhône-like spice-filled flavour, and finishing with its now signature long, pepper-dusted finish." Jeni Port
"Dark ruby, with magenta edges and a deep, black core. Intense perfumed aromas of ripe plums, red cherries and blueberries play with notes of violet and white pepper. Full bodied with complex forest fruits, cherry, blackcurrant and pepper spice with a soft, yet textured mouthfeel. Hints of vanilla and plums on the fresh, elegant finish. The grapes were fermented using wild yeast, most of the component parcels were matured in older oak using 150-year-old English oak casks." Fowles Wine
Expert reviews
"Matured 12 months in mostly older French oak puncheons. The winemaker believes a wild ferment brings complexity and texture to a wine. Set against a particularly peppery background, the 2020 Wild Ferment shiraz delivers on both counts. Black pepper, five spice, woody spices, aniseed, blackberry, black cherry and earth. The palate is the thing, velvet-like in density, layered in concentrated Rhône-like spice-filled flavour, and finishing with its now signature long, pepper-dusted finish. Drink by 2031." Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points and Special Value Wine ★
"The 2020 Fowles Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Wild Ferment Shiraz is a bold, structured red crafted in Victoria with native yeasts and plenty of character. Deep in colour and almost opaque at the centre, it opens with savoury aromas of smoked plum, cured meats, and cracked spice. The palate is rich and weighty, showing layers of dark berries, gamey undertones, and lively pepper through a lengthy, evolving finish. Serve it with grilled venison or charred eggplant stuffed with lentils." Natalie MacLean, nataliemaclean.com - 95 points
Awards
Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion ★
About the winery
Fowles are a farming family, with a rich generational history of farming the land. They've farmed across the width and breadth of Australia and now call the Strathbogie Ranges, in Victoria, home. Here, amongst 4500 rolling acres, they farm sheep, cultivate vines and hand-craft cool-climate wines. The rugged and beautiful Strathbogie Ranges are located an hour and a half's drive northeast of Melbourne. The area has emerged as a truly distinctive, high-altitude, and cool climate region, producing intense wines that are elegant and full of character.
Fowles' 300-acre wine growing property is 'Upton Run', located in the hill country above Avenel at an elevation of around 500 meters above sea level. It is both a vineyard and sheep grazing property, the sheep grazing between the vines in winter to reduce the weed burden and the need for sprays. The vineyard, dotted with massive ancient granite boulders, comprises soils of decomposed granite. Ancient, nutrient poor and free-draining, these soils are great for grapes because the vines put their energy into fruit development.
The Strathbogie Ranges, located north of the Great Dividing Range, experience strong diurnal weather patterns – warm days (the January mean temperature is 19.5ºC) and cool nights. These conditions allow the fruit to gradually ripen over a long period, accumulating the right balance of sugars and acid whilst building intense flavour and colour. An almost constant wind whistles through the vines, providing good air circulation, which reduces the risk of frost damage in early spring and mildew in summer.
The vineyards are certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia. No insecticides or herbicides are used and mid-rows are planted with a multitude of different grass species to promote soil health. A biodiverse ecosystem is encouraged in the vineyards, where beehives and insectariums bloom alongside flora, fostering balance. Fowles are also pioneering a project to support the microbat population, tiny insect-eating bats which consume their body weight in insects each night, vital in ensuring vineyard health.
Fowles has a wide variety of plantings, including Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Arneis, Vermentino, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sangiovese, Merlot, Shiraz, Mourvèdre, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Victoria
Victoria is home to more than 800 wineries across 21 wine regions. The regions are Alpine Valley, Beechworth, Bendigo, Geelong, Gippsland, Glenrowan, Goulburn Valley, Grampians, Heathcote, Henty, King Valley, Macedon Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Murray Darling, Pyrenees, Rutherglen, Strathbogie Ranges, Sunbury, Swan Hill, Upper Goulburn and Yarra Valley.
Victoria's first vines were planted at Yering in the Yarra Valley in 1838. By 1868 over 3,000 acres had been planted in Victoria, establishing Victoria as the premier wine State of the day. Today, the original vineyards planted at Best's Wines are among the oldest and rarest pre-phylloxera plantings in the world.
Victoria's climate varies from hot and dry in the north to cool in the south and each wine region specialises in different varietals. For example, Rutherglen in the north is famous for its opulent Muscats and Topaque and bold reds, while the many cooler climate regions near Melbourne produce world class Chardonnay and pinot Noir. Victoria is truly a wine lover's playground.