Mac Forbes Winemaker - Nominee: Gourmet Traveller Wine 2011 Winemaker of the Year

“We always return to a place – because the place isn’t the same as other places and sometimes a place is different from any other place.” Terry Theise, Reading between the Wines

“Physical boundaries may define regions and individual sites, but intellectual ones are there to be broken. There are many winemakers in the Yarra Valley doing just that and Mac Forbes is in the vanguard. Inspired by European appellations, and drawing guidance from some of Australia’s greatest makers of wine, Mac Forbes is pushing the envelope and carving out his own bright future in the Yarra Valley.” Nick Bulleid MW, Gourmet Traveller Wine.

Terroir, sense of place, somewhereness. Call it what you will but Mac Forbes, with his 2010 wine releases, is taking this approach to a new level for the Yarra Valley.  Sub-mapping the terroirs of the Yarra using Pinot as the vessel takes some cojones. Is the market ready for such parcellated bottlings or are we still getting our heads around the regional styles? Will there be enough stylistic differences between sites to give the project requisite staying power? Didn’t it take the Burgundians a thousand years to sort this out? It may be very early days but you’ve got to start somewhere. And Mac’s 2010 releases make a powerful (and delicious) case for more terroir specific wines to be produced in the Yarra and to be labelled accordingly.

Of course, an ever increasing number of Australian winemakers are taking a ‘terroirist’ approach to their vines. They’re bottling wines from single patches of vines rather than blending vineyards or regions. Mac Forbes has emerged as one of the chief protagonists in the move towards sub-regionality and site specific wines by using his own back yard – the Yarra Valley. With five single-site Pinots from Yarra villages in 2010 - Dixons Creek, Yarra Glen, Coldstream, Gruyere, and Woori Yallock - Mac is attempting to guide the personalities of each of his vineyards into our glass. We think he’s done a brilliant job and now it’s your turn.

After six years, Mac Forbes holds a string of delicious wines to his name, and yet there is no question that 2010 is his greatest vintage to date. The quality across the range is simply outstanding and the Chardonnays are every bit as delicious as the reds. Working now as part of a power trio – with Tony Fikkers turning the winemaking knobs and Dylan Grigg on viticultural duties - the extra hands have allowed Mac more man hours to focus further on the vineyard. Accordingly the current releases have more layers, density and definition than we have tasted in Mac’s wines before. There is an obvious respect towards the integrity of the raw materials. There is also a more indefinable dirt-under-the-fingernails quality going on; a sense of confidence and naturalness. An ideal growing season in 2010 has of course played its part.

Mac’s philosophy in the winery is honestly blunt; the hard work has been done in the vineyards and all that’s left is to “...look after the detail, keep it simple and respect the fruit”. As a whole Mac’s Pinots are lithe, fresh and pure-fruited. Use of oak is deft and in accordance with the vintage, always tucked away in a supporting role to the fruit. The Chardonnays are nervy and vibrant. It’s tempting to call them Euro-styled; however there is no brittleness that can be associated with producers trying to mimic this style from Aussie soil. Instead the fresh acidities are cushioned by vivacious fruit and textural complexities. The four whites below are refined, elegant, tightly wound and citrusy. They are truly exciting additions to the ‘new school’ of Australian Chardonnay. Make no mistake; 2010 is a benchmark (and breakout) release of Pinot and Chardonnay from Mac Forbes. We urge you to try them (and buy them!)

161 dozen made. This is the Mac Forbes villages wine. In 2010 it is predominantly Woori fruit which goes some way to explaining the fabulous quality making this wine an absolute steal. A scrumptiously delicious solidsy, matchsticky, leesy wine with a core of juicy citrus and white peach fruit. Both elegant and textural, this is the perfect intro to Mac’s 2010 Chardonnays which, by the way, are simply the finest set of whites we have encountered from this producer. This is such great value – seriously – so damn delicious, so much pulp, so much zing and lots of complexity. Yum.

Add to cart: Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2010 $27.55

81 dozen made. This is Mac’s first release from Hoddles Creek and his first foray into the fertile red soils of the upper Yarra Valley. This comes from a site with an elevation of 400mt. Different soils, different altitude, different place, and different wine. A more immediate, open wine than the other single vineyard wines with a juicy, succulent texture, bright, ripe citrus fruit notes and an intensely fresh, crunchy finish. Mouth-watering, refined Chardonnay juice. There is a lot to love here.

Add to cart: Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2010 $37.05

186 dozen made. Australian Chardonnay has never been in better form. This is up there with some of the best. These vines in Woori Yallock were planted in 1994 on a southerly aspect. This is always Mac’s finest Chardonnay site and again in 2010 it has delivered. It’s all class with a tightly focused core of crystallised, cool climate stone fruits, floral and spice notes, and a delicious creamy texture. There’s a hint of solidsy complexity but it’s very restrained. There is also a hint of grip and ultra fine acidity lending shape and length. Extremely long and simply delicious. We recommend this brilliant wine very highly.

Add to cart: Woori Yallock Chardonnay 2010 $39.90

115 dozen made. Located in the north-west of the Yarra Valley, this is Mac’s most northerly tended vineyard and has dense, mudstone/clay soils. While the sub-regional conditions are dry and warm, the key here is the protection this site receives from its easterly aspect; thus helping the vines avoid the afternoon heat and light. It’s a site that produces a lighter bodied Pinot; perfumed and refined and with a mentholy freshness. The 2010 has a fresh, vibrant, bright, herb-tinged red fruited nose offset by cinnamon, clove and minty notes. The mouth is soft and silky with dusty cherry and plums washed down by crunchy acidity. Like all the wines below this was foot-stomped and received around eight days of skin contact before being run off to barrel where it spend ten months maturing.

Add to cart Dixon's Creek Pinot Noir 2010 $37.05

Yarra Glen is situated due north of Coldstream in the lower Yarra. Like Dixons, this vineyard has an easterly aspect providing protection from afternoon sunshine and heat. The vines are close-planted on unforgiving granite/clay loam soils often delivering quite a stony, minerally palate with savoury nuances. There is great intensity here, but not the kind brought on by concentration or saturation.  The aromas are lifted, white strawberry flecked with floral notes and earthy undertones. In the palate it has a beautiful, delicate attack of bright red fruits and tannins that are delicate and fresh. It’s a pretty and spicy Pinot that is already drinking very well.

Add to cart: Yarra Glen Pinot Noir 2010 $37.05

171 dozen made. Located in the heart of the Yarra on the compact mudstone soils of Mount Mary, opposite St Hubert’s. This is the warmest Pinot vineyard in the portfolio. West-southwest facing, this vineyard is generally the most fruit forward and the first to be picked. It is a wine of plump ripe, fruit and yet good underlying structure. The vineyard was planted in 1999 with MV6 on Swarzmann rootstock and we have witnessed this wine get better and better each year. As always the 2010 is immediately more open and appealing at a young age with a darker, deeper fruit spectrum than the previous two wines. There are more dark plums and ripe cherry notes on the nose. The palate is mid weight, silken and supple in texture with plenty of red and black fruited goodness, a dusting of spicy tannins and a savoury edge twist.  It’s perhaps  the most vocal of Mac 2010’s for the moment.

Add to cart: Coldstream Pinot Noir 2010 $39.90

141 dozen made. This is another step up in weight and density. Gruyere is located just to the south of Coldstream and was planted with MV6 in 1996. This vineyard is dry grown and has a gentle northerly aspect. The elevation ranges from 90-112m and the soil profile is of grey sandy loam with siltstones and ironstones. Although close to Coldstream it’s a site that produces a quite different Pinot than its northern neighbour. Dense and layered, the 2010 is all about delicious, creamy Pinot fruits loaded with some smoky, iodine complexity and a long, fresh close. It’s a delicious mouthful of Pinot goodness.

Add to cart: Gruyere Pinot Noir 2010 $39.90

260 dozen made. The Woori Yallock vineyard is the jewel in the Mac Forbes’ range. Located in upper Yarra, Woori is the coolest, highest, most southerly vineyard and is the last Pinot block picked each year. Planted in 1995 on own roots at an elevation of 100-145m it is only 1.3 Ha while the soils are grey loam over brown, gravely clay. The 2010 release is simply a brilliant wine. Pure class. It is somehow more powerful and more seductive than its compatriots. A stunning wine with oodles of pure fruit and spice, superb depth and lacy tannins. More vinosity; more Pinosity!  It’s certainly a wine that will take a little longer to unfurl into its ethereal best, though even now it looks ravishing and brilliantly balanced. A poster child for the 2010 release.

Add to cart: Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2010 $48.45