Fowles Are You Game? Pinot Noir 2021 (Strathbogie)

The quirky and intriguing labels from Fowles add to the allure of the wines and the introduction by Fowles themselves best describes the philosophy behind Are you Game Pinot Noir..."Winemaking is a game of quick wit, experience and endurance. Each year Mother Nature challenges us to a match and each year we respond; moving deftly with the lightest touch. As seasoned contenders, we know how to play the game. The resulting blend is captivating; light on its feet yet full of character and perfect with food. Are you Game?"

Made from Pinot Noir fruit from our Strathbogie vineyards, this wine was a mixture of crushed and whole berries, fermented with a cultured yeast specifically selected to enhance spice and pure fruit characters. The wine was matured for six months with predominantly new French oak and finished off with a dash of Mourvédre (3%). Blending Mourvedre adds complex dark fruit and savoury spice notes on the aroma and palate, and contributes soft but grippy tannins.

Fowles Wine vineyards and winery are located in the dramatic granite landscape of Strathbogie Ranges region of Victoria, Australia. Fowles Wine crafts some of Australia’s finest cool climate wines, winning many of Australia’s most prestigious wine medals and trophies. The Fowles Wine team is energetic and enterprising, continuing to break new ground by proudly taking the Strathbogie Ranges ‘message in a bottle’ to the world with some of Australia’s most exciting wines.

Sharing latitudinal pedigree with Gisborne in New Zealand; Sonoma and Napa Valleys in the USA; Mendoza in Argentina; Sicily in Italy and Jerez in Spain, Victoria is the southern-most and coolest State of mainland Australia, famed for its diverse wine regions and cool climate. Home to Fowles Wine vineyards and winery, the Strathbogie Ranges is characterised by massive granite boulders – the very boulders that have given rise, over millions of years, to the sandy loam soils in which our vines grow. This is a harsh Australian landscape with soil that is nutrient poor and retains very little water – difficult for farmers to grow livestock, but a wonderful landscape for grape growers seeking to grow fruit with great intensity. Couple these attributes with the cool climate, gentle aspect and glorious summer sunshine and the Strathbogie Ranges is an ideal region for growing grapes and making wine. The mean January temperature is 19.15°C and the average annual rainfall in our family vineyards is 700 mm (28 inches).