Jonty met Otto & Three Boys joins the Mayfield stable

Orange’s historic Mayfield Vineyard has released a new Cabernet Franc, the 2023 Mayfield ‘Jonty met Otto’, joining its stablemate, the 2023 Mayfield ‘Three Boys’ Cabernet Blend ($37).  

The region is developing a strong reputation for Cabernet Franc. Historically the variety has been used as a component in Bordeaux blends, however it is more recently being made into a single variety wine. 

“We continue to use our Cabernet Franc in our Cabernet Blend, but it works so well on its own that we felt it deserved to be treated separately in the winery,” said owner and vigneron John Eastham. “We are extremely pleased with the result, and confident that we can continue to build on this first step.”

“Our viticulturist Charles Simons was integral in the revitalisation of these Cabernet Franc vines and so we have named the wine for his young family, a nod to his achievements and the bright future of the variety at Mayfield.”

The Cabernet Franc was fermented with hand-plunging and gentle pump-overs prior to being transferred to second fill (45%) and older French oak puncheons (500 litres) and hogsheads (300 litres), including Boutes barrels from Bordeaux for 12 months.

The second new wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. “The grapes for this blend were treated in a similar manner in the winery. However, we used a small amount of new oak (8%) with remaining components matured in a combination of seasoned French oak puncheons and hogsheads for 12 months prior to blending.

“2023 was characterised by the cool wet spring. We had to spend a great deal of time in the vineyard managing the crop levels to ensure that the fruit ripened to perfection. During February and March, we experienced consistent warmer weather. This extended the growing season and allowed the fruit to be both phenologically and flavour ripe.

“Depending on who in the family you speak to, the Three Boys was named after the three vineyard blocks from which the wine was made, the trio of grape varieties in the blend, or the canine members of the family.”