Are You Game 2013 Chardonnay 750ml

Fowles' Are You Game? line makes the food pairing easy for you. This label features a turkey, making it fairly obvious this is poultry-friendly. Chardonnay from Victoria's cool climate, granitic-soiled Strathbogie Ranges (Fowles' home farm at Upton Run, plus neighbouring Tarcombe Ridge vineyard) makes up this label. This was primarily fermented in stainless, with 10 percent in barrel. The wine was then aged for four months in new and old French oak with lees stirring, topped up with a splash of viognier from their mates down the road, at Tahbilk. White peach, pear, yellow apple rolls across a creamy palate (feeling that lees work), though the earlier pick, scrabbly mineral-studded soils, and stainless steel keeps things bright. Showing lovely now, four years along. Though one of their entry-level tiers, this shows an attention and care uncommon in many wines, at any price point. Get Game with Fowles.

Score: 89 points -- Treve Ring, May 2018