Pokémon Power, Aussie Style (Fowles Victoria Recent Releases)
Welcome to the third installment of my three-parter on the wines of Austraila’s Victoria region (if you missed them, catch up on Part 1 and Part 2). Today, I’m featuring one of Victoria’s hundreds of family-run producers, Fowles Wine.
In April of 2024, I had the pleasure of attending a media dinner at Philly’s Sampan with Matt Fowles, the main guy behind Fowles Wine, which sits just to the east of VIctoria’s mountains, where it sees a Continental-style climate that’s somewhat mitigated by the site’s 500 meters of elevation. Fowles farms vineyards that sit on some (very) ancient granitic soils, dotted with imposing boulders that can reach upwards of six stories in height.
“We’re on the ‘fresher’ side” when it comes to their site and their wines, Fowles told me. “If I had a Pokémon superpower, it would be aromatics.”
We sampled just a handful of the thirteen or so varieties that Fowles has planted, but these selections made it clear that diversity is one of Fowles’ (and Victoria’s) strong-suits (add another item to their Pokémon card Abilities list)…
2022 Fowles Wine ‘Farm to Table’ Sauvignon Blanc, Victoria, $20
Balance is the name of the game in this excellent, zesty white. Passionfruit and lemongrass mark both the nose and the palate, which is both textured and fresh, while remaining simply downright delicious for those who feel less like thinking and more like drinking.
2021 Fowles ‘Ladies who Shoot their Lunch’ Wild Ferment Chardonnay, Strathbogie Ranges, $30
The name is a take on valuing provenance and place over style, and there’s a lot going on in this characterful white. Fowles utilizes 60-80 ferments with wild yeasts to make up the final blend, describing the effort both in and out of the vineyard as “a lot of work.” Melons, ripe peaches, apples, jasmine, vanilla, under-ripe pineapple… the aromatic complexity is fascinating. In the mouth, it’s rich but counterbalanced by acidity and structure.
2021 Fowles Wine ‘Farm to Table’ Pinot Noir, Victoria, $17
Also the result of a wild yeast fermentation, Fowles’ Farm-to-Table Pinot offers a lot of pleasure and value. Fowles’ summed up his approach to this red as “let Pinot be Pinot,” and called its palate “sneaky rich.” It’s bright, but also meaty, with wild strawberry action mingling playfully with blue plums and savory textures.
2020 Fowles ‘Ladies who Shoot their Lunch’ Wild Ferment Shiraz, Strathbogie Ranges, $40
Elegant isn’t a word we often associate with Aussie Shiraz, but this is no ordinary Aussie Shiraz. A ton of spices great your nose with this red, followed by juicy, bright red and black raspberry fruits. There’s great freshness throughout, accented by notes of pepper and iron. Bottom line: this is excellent stuff.
2019 Fowles Wine ‘Farm to Table’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Victoria, $20
Yields were down about 40{83994d7454f8ce68441ea8152244c292227c3db19076e7622c8f5ff92141c35a} for Fowles in 2019, making this a lower production red for them, and a more concentrated one at that. A splash of Merlot also makes it into this Cab, which is silky, minty, fresh, and chock full of cassis and red plum action. This is a very difficult red to stop drinking…
Cheers!
