Wine review: A wine for sweets – Freeman Hilltops Dolcino 2013

Freeman Hilltops Dolcino 2013 500ml $25

Brian Freeman made his trophy-winning Dolcino from viognier grapes harvested at very high sugar levels (42 per cent of the berry weight, he says). A wild-yeast fermentation in a combination of old and new oak barrels added a plush texture to the intensely luscious result. It shows viognier's distinctive dried-apricot and ginger-like flavours, subtly overlaid with orange-peel/marmalade character derived from the presence of noble rot (botrytis cinerea​) on about half of the grapes. Despite its lusciousness, the wine remains delicate, with a high level of acidity balancing the sweetness.