Fowles Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Shiraz 2013 (Strathbogie Ranges)

The Strathbogie Ranges fruit was harvested during the day between 13 - 27 March 2013, while the fruit from Sunbury was harvested during the day on 12 March.

This wine was fermented at around 24 ̊Celsius in sweep-arm fermenters to maximise colour and flavour. We chose to ferment this wine in stainless steel tanks to preserve primary fruit flavours.

We selected a variety of yeasts to ferment this wine: Clos, L2056, Rhone 2323 and RP15. These yeasts were selected for their ability to help enhance di erent elements of the wine, such as aroma, colour and tannin structure, to create harmonious complexity in this Shiraz.

This wine was matured for 12 months using a combination of new and old, and large and small, English and French oak. One quarter of the wine was matured in 140 year old 5000L English oak casks and two 6000L new French oak casks. One quarter was matured in one, two and three year old French oak puncheons. The balance was maintained as a fresh, fruity parcel in stainless steel.

The vintage of 2013 was warm and dry. With a forecast for hot weather, we ensured vines were watered ahead of the curve to keep them fresh. In an average year we normally start irrigating in mid-December, but due to soil moisture levels during this vintage we began irrigating in early October and continued up until we began picking blocks.

These conditions were ideal for producing wonderfully intense Shiraz - some of the best we’ve harvested in the Strathbogie Ranges. In fact, Chief Winemaker Victor Nash said: “It’s all just varying degrees of outstanding!” Followed by: “I’m not sure that I have ever stood at this tasting bench and seen such a strong line up of wines!”

Given that Victor has been making wine with us for over ten years we were pretty excited by his insights on Shiraz from this vintage!

We decided to blend our Strathbogie Shiraz with parcels of fruit from other regions in order to achieve the style we seek to craft in Ladies who Shoot their Lunch wine.

The more generous qualities of the Sunbury fruit complemented the intense and elegant characteristics of fruit from Upton Run and Baarrooka to create a wine with the perfume, texture and balance to match wild game.

Medium term careful cellaring of two to five years. Winery Notes