2023 Franklinford Vineyard Dolcetto 750mL

The small community of Franklinford sits in the North Western corner of the Macedon Ranges, 10 minutes drive north of Hepburn. The vineyard sits near the foothills of Lalgambrook (Mt Franklin) on rich dark volcanic basalt. The vineyard is 10 acres in size and was planted in 2000 by the original owner Leslie Mcgilvrey, with the assistance of Graeme Leith under the label Mt Franklin Estate. Leslie has a Swiss Italian connection in her life and she wanted to plant varieties to express this story. The vineyard was then purchased by Julie and Peter Kent in 2018 and they changed the name of the business to Mafic Wines. They fell in love with the area and are refining the way the property is farmed. We have stopped using systemic herbicides and fungicides which is a huge step in the right direction.

Handpicked on the 9th of April, once back at the winery we de-stemmed all of the grapes. Remaining on skins for 7 weeks in total we do pump overs daily whilst the fermentation is active, the grapes were then basket pressed and the wine was transferred to barrel (seasoned French barriques) for maturation. The wine stays in barrel for 12 months being topped regularly before being racked to tank with a sulphur dioxide addition. Here it stays for 4 months to settle and clarify in the cold winter months. Prior to bottling there is another sulphur dioxide addition. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The Franklinford Dolcetto is as always very dark in colour; it offers aromas of aniseed, pepper, orange peel, freshly turned earth and cooked blackberries. It is a powerful wine that is also in some sense elegant for its size. Cooked blackberries are at the forefront but there is ample tannin and acidity. This year it feels lighter in some senses although still fully ripe and warming. There is a refreshing simplicity to the wine yet it is also complex.