McFarlane Wines, Tuesday’s Child 2023
Alexandra McFarlane, winemaker and proprietor of McFarlane Wines, is incredibly passionate about South African ‘heritage’ varietals (working exclusively with Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Cinsault and Semillon) and the role that they have played in sculpting the evolution of the SA wine industry.
She handles the grapes as gently as possible in the winery in order to produce wines that are elegant, honest and undeniably moreish. She picks with freshness in mind, resulting in wines that are comparatively low abv, but maintains complexity through phenolic ripeness and extended lees contact.
The grapes were sourced from multiple areas – Darling, Stellenbosch and Bot River. Hand picking and sorting preceded crushing; using the traditional foot stomping method. Gentle extraction, using punch downs, was utilised during fermentation. After fermentation, the wine was pressed and racked to big, old, French barrels for 10 months.
Turkish delight, red fruit and a hint of spice jump out of the glass. This follows through to the palate in fresh black cherries, pink musk sweet and black pepper. True to the varietal, tannins are fine, but offer some grip.
£29.15
Western Cape
Cinsault
LightFull Bodied
Description
VARIETAL
92% Cinsault | 8% Grenache
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Alc: 12.29% | pH: 3.57 | TA: 5.8g/l | FSO2: 29ppm | TSO2: 84ppm | RS: 2.2g/l
ORIGIN
Western Cape – Darling / Stellenbosch / Bot River
HARVEST & VINEYARD
Two different portions of Cinsault go into this wine, the biggest portion comes from an old block in Darling planted in the 1960’s. Each portion is picked around 21.5-22.5 Brix so the final wine is driven by freshy red fruit and lots of spice. The grapes are harvested by hand and driven to the cellar where they spend a night in the chiller before sorting and processing the following day. A small portion of Grenache is blended into this for some grip and acidity.
WINEMAKING
The whole bunch clusters are sorted by hand before being placed into a small open top fermenter where they are foot stomped. These batches were fermented for 10 days with 3 gentle punch downs per day for gentle extraction. Once dry, the wine was pressed off skins to tank for settling overnight before being racked to big old french barrels. The wine spent 10 months in barrel and underwent malolactic fermentation wherafter is was racked and blended. The wine was gently filtered before bottling.
TASTING NOTES
Turkish delight, gentle spice and vibrant raspberry and cherry bound out of the glass. The palate displays notes of black cherries, pink musk sweets and black pepper. The tannins are fine but offer plenty of serious grip.
Additional information
| Alcohol vol | 12.3% |
|---|---|
| Grape | Cinsault |
| Origin | Western Cape |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Wine Farm |
Cranberry stuffed chicken breast wrapped in pancetta.
2 reviews for McFarlane Wines, Tuesday’s Child 2023
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91 points | Tim Atkin MW Special South Africa Report 2024
“Based on fruit from Darling, with smaller contributions from Bot River and Stellenbosch, this is an assemblage of Cinsault and 8% Grenache. Chiselled, sappy and refreshing, it’s a wine that has good structure, fine-grained tannins and redcurrant and bramble fruit. 2024-29”
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92 points | Platter’s Wine Guide 2025
“Translucent 2023 showcases variety’s elegance in modern expression vibrating with energy, aided by mostly wholebunch ferment. Pomegranate & cranberry joined by plum from 8% Grenache Noir, sympathetically older oaked, 10 months, Just 12% alcohol for daytime sipping.”
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