Capitoline Wolf Red 1.5L

The Capitoline Wolf Red is highly versatile at the table. It pairs beautifully with a sourdough Margherita pizza, enhancing the tomato’s sweetness and the crust’s smokiness, or with sticky, sweet pork ribs, cutting through the richness with its bright acidity and savoury finish.

This wine blends two distinctive sites: Cinsault from granitic soils in Paarl and Grenache grown at 600 metres elevation in the remote Citrusdal Mountains. Both sites contribute their unique character — the granitic Cinsault bringing freshness and aromatic lift, while the high-altitude Grenache adds depth and structure. Grapes were hand-harvested, chilled overnight, and carefully hand-sorted before fermentation.

All three batches went through full malolactic fermentation and spent 9 months in barrel. The batches were blended together along with a small amount of Grenache before a light filtration, followed by bottling.

The Cinsault was fermented 100% whole-bunch, preserving freshness and spice, while the Grenache saw 25% whole-bunch inclusion for balance. Both components fermented naturally over about ten days before being pressed and transferred to large, seasoned French oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in barrel, and the wine matured for nine months before bottling, following a light filtration.

McFarlane Wines was born while sharing dreams and desires one evening over dinner, sometime in 2018. A dream to have something family-owned and operated, and a deep desire to honour some of South Africa’s heritage varieties. South Africa’s vinous history is a unique one, and certain varieties have had a significant influence in shaping where the South African wine industry is today. McFarlane Wines aims to produce fine, honest wines from these varieties and share what we love about them with the world.