Phil Lobley in conversation
Letting myself through the gate to P & L Lobley’s farm I feel like I’m a million miles from Melbourne. Phil greets me with his huge shaggy doggo Lexy; who is half wolfhound half staghound, all sniffs and snuffles. Phil welcomes me to his family’s home (a mud brick house built with his very own hands!) and shows me to the winery. The winery is packed to the rafters with barrels, bottles and boxes. Phil apologises for how chaotic it is – he just had to rescue his wines from a rogue warehouse so his winery now serves as part time warehouse. Phil asks me if I liked the murals on the water tanks when driving in. He recently rescued two Argentinian backpackers who needed a home during the covid crisis. One, a tattoo artist, put his skills to the test on the tanks. The murals are bright and quirky, very much the impression I get from Phil.
It’s a crisp and sunny autumnal morning but the wind is ripping through the valley and across the lake; I zip my jacket up and Phil offers me a glass. He says 2020 was a good vintage and there are some great wines to try. He alludes to a sorer than normal head after a Friday night full of records, wine, more records and from what I can gather, more wine but that doesn’t stop him sampling the wines too.
Where did it all begin?
Studying agriculture at university I always liked drinking wine. As all good students do me and my friends sampled wine and beer aplenty at uni, but it wasn’t until I worked as a landscape gardener in Woodlands (the home of the iconic yellow Caterpillar) in California when my interest peaked. I spent my weekends sampling the wines of Napa so it was hard not to love it! After California I took a job salmon fishing in Alaska, where I worked as cook, not because I can cook, rather because cook was third in line for the portion of the catch, waiting my turn only after captain and the deck boss! In California and Alaska my awareness of the environment was already growing, but soon after I headed back to Australia via Europe for some more wine and mischief, finally settling in the Upper Goulburn Valley. I’ve always worked in this area, firstly as the viticulturalist and vineyard manager for de Bortoli followed by a few years at Punch in St Andrews. My awareness of agriculture’s negative impact on the ecosystem grew with each year I worked in the vineyards, only fuelling my desire to work with nature, not against it whenever possible.
When did Phil Lobley’s Wines come to be?
My childhood dream was always to own my own piece of Australia, a dream I was lucky enough to realise in 1992 when I bought my very own patch of earth, where we’re standing now. If you climb up the hill behind us the view stretches as far as Yea, my own kingdom I dream! This was my chance to do right by the environment which means sustainable farming and reducing my carbon footprint as much as possible. I have some solar panels on the roof but otherwise I rely on Mother Nature’s temperature control when fermenting and maturing the wines; a risky choice when summer temperatures can soar over 30 degrees. Today I just grow Pinot Noir on my vineyard and buy other grapes (sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, cabernet franc and shiraz) from friend’s in the valley. Everything I do in the vineyard is to help the vine but I push the envelope where I can, letting mother nature run its course until I think the crop might be at risk.
Where does your inspiration come from for the labels?
A bit of everywhere really, mostly inspired by the world around me. The Philip Lobley wine label is a copper plate etching of the breakfast tree; named simply because I eat my breakfast overlooking the tree in the garden every morning. The Temptation range are sketches my daughter drew when she was 12 years old and the art series labels are commissioned by local artist Katie Chancellor. The newest wine in the range is called Bad Kitty; a white wine made like a red wine which has an equally as fun and distinctive label.
What else do you enjoy drinking?
Well we have a glass of wine most nights, lots of my own wine otherwise I’d be broke! But when not drinking our wine I like to try other organic and biodynamic producer’s wines; not because I believe they’ll be any better but in support of the producer’s ecologically friendly methods and practices. I’ve recently tried a few great wines from some small producers in Southern Rhone, France.
Wrapping up the conversation I asked Phil what he’d like to be known for. Catching him off guard he responds lightheartedly, ‘good wines?!’ But, on thinking the question over, he settles in on his role as a custodian of the land, and the importance of paying respect to the soil on which he grows his vines. I’d like to add his salt of the earth good nature and his compassion for those around him. He leaves me with a freshly baked sourdough from his wife Lyn’s Wild Crust Bakery, a bottle of wine and a quote from Patrick E White stating ‘soil is a three dimensional body that is continuously variable in time and space’. What a guy!
To buy wines direct book a tasting here, alternatively you can purchase them at the following wine shops:
The Wine Corner (Carlton North)
Obelix (North Fitzroy)
Carwyn Cellars (Thornbury)
Mr West Bottleshop (Footscray)
Seddon Wine Store (Seddon)
Wine Larder (Brighton)
Samuel Pepys Wine Merchant (Northcote)