The wines of Mac Forbes, Australia

The wines of Mac Forbes, Victoria, Australia

I’m going to make a prediction: I reckon that before long Mac Forbes will be recognized as one of Australia’s greatest winemakers (I suppose he may already be...). His wines are fantastic, and they represent an important facet of Australia’s future fine wine dimension. I know this might sound a bit hypey, but I'm just so impressed by what he is doing.

Forbes made his name as winemaker with the late John Middleton at Mount Mary in the Yarra Valley—wines that I’ve admired greatly, and which have stood out from the crowd. He left in 2002 and spent three years as winemaker/ambassador for Southcorp in Europe, as well as doing stints in Portugal and Austria before returning to the Yarra to make his own wines.

While Mac was in Europe he spent some time with Dirk Niepoort, trying to get a sense of elegance with Douro fruit. Mac has some similarities to Dirk, particularly in his perfectionist drive to achieve complexity and elegance at all costs, and in his willingness to try doing things a bit differently.

Niepoort’s Charme was the inspiration for Mac’s EBL Pinot Noir, with its ultra-short maceration. ‘It stayed orange for two years and I was expecting to put it down the drain’, he reports. But the wine picked up colour during its long stay in barrel. ‘It goes against what we think we know’, Mac adds. ‘Anyone who thinks they know all the answers is a long way from making interesting wine’.

His energies are focused on Pinot Noir and Riesling, although he also works with other varieties. ‘I’m looking for texture in my wines’, he says. ‘We have no problem with getting fruit flavours in Australia, so it is about the other components. I’m looking at the best expression of the site’. Currently he makes eight different Pinot Noirs from the Yarra, and is picking much earlier than most other producers, at 11.5–12.5 degrees of potential alcohol.

He also takes a more natural approach to winemaking. ‘Naturalness is what I live for’, says Mac. ‘So many times we could intervene, but I've achieved the most elation when we don't do anything. I don't add yeasts or nutrients, and I'm trying to avoid adding any acid. I don't pick on analysis, but on flavour (I don’t have a problem with greenness in the seeds). I want to go back to pure basics.’

The French concept of élévage (bringing a wine up) is important to Mac. ‘Everything I make goes into barrels’, he says. ‘I slow the process down. They all take their time. I pick early and allow oxidative handling early on, which means the wines are very oxygen stable.’

Mac Forbes Riesling rs31 2007 Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria
This has 31 g/litre of residual sugar and 8 g/litre of acidity, made in an off-dry style inspired by German Rieslings. Mac says that ‘it went really orange after 3 months on skins: it looked like Pinot, but now it looks like Riesling’. No sulfur was added during fermentation. Just 300 litres was made, but more is planned for future vintages. Very fine limey, aromatic nose. The palate is off-dry like a Kabinett but a bit richer, with honeyed, sweet limey fruit and a rich, rounded texture. 91/100 (05/08)

Mac Forbes Riesling rs9 2008 Strathbogie Ranges
9 g/litre sugar and 8 g/litre acidity. Lovely fresh lemony aromatics. Focused. The palate has appealing texture with smooth, pure fruit and a hint of honeyed sweetness. Good acid. Lovely balance. 92/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes Riesling rs37 2008 Strathbogie Ranges
An off-dry style with 37 g/litre residual sugar. Sweet, honeyed and lemony on the nose. Lovely rich melony palate with lovely texture and complexity. A really interesting wine. 91/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2007
Complex, taut and toasty with nice minerality to the focused fruit. Deliciously expressive. 93/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2006
Taut, herby, spicy nose with some earthy notes. Savoury and focused. The palate is fresh and elegant with sweet fruit and a hint of earthy, spicy structure. Delicious and complex, with real elegance. 93/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes Gruyere Pinot Noir 2007 Coldstream, Yarra Valley
A new vineyard Mac is working with. 11.9% alcohol. Brightly aromatic, fresh and quite pure with some gingery, spicy notes. The palate is pure and expressive with fresh, smooth-textured cherry fruit. Lovely elegance here with a savoury edge. 93/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes Coldstream Pinot Noir 2006 Yarra Valley
Pale colour. Focused cherry and spice nose. The palate is pure and super-elegant with lovely purity and freshness. A brilliant wine that is thrillingly complex and textured. 94/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes EBL Pinot Noir 2005 Yarra Valley
This was foot-stomped for 6 hours and then pressed off the skins 24 hours later. Mac says that it had no colour for 2 years, and was like white elderflower with lifted floral notes. After 24 months on lees it started to change colour and dark fruit characters started emerging. It just shows that there is so much we don't know, which is so bloody exciting. Pale cherry red in colour with lovely aromatic nose of sweet, elegant grassy cherry fruit. The palate is fresh and elegant with lovely smooth cherry fruit and a hint of earthiness. Refined structure. A thrilling wine. 94/100 (05/08)

Mac Forbes Gruyere Syrah 2007 Yarra Valley
Fresh, pure, focused dark fruits nose. The palate is bright with focused dark cherry and raspberry fruit and a bit of peppery spiciness. Delicious stuff with good acidity. 93/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes ‘Hugh’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Sweet, open blackcurranty nose. The palate shows fresh, pure, expressive berry and blackcurrant fruit. Satisfying, fresh and forward. 92/100 (01/09)

Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Chardonnay 2005 Yarra Valley, Australia
Quite fresh, with a full, complex nose. The palate is smooth and concentrated with nice expressive fruits. Tasty stuff that’s rich but balanced. 90/100 (Ł11.80) 02/07

Mac Forbes Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2005 Yarra Valley , Australia
Light coloured. Smooth, sweetly fruited nose of perfumed cherry fruit and some spice. There’s just a hint of ginger. The palate is soft and elegant with rounded, spicy-edged fruit. Complex, full and yet not too rich. 93/100 (Ł16.40) 02/07

Mac Forbes Coldstream Pinot Noir 2005 Yarra Valley, Australia
Wonderful open, spicy nose. It’s complex, warm and rich with just a hint of herby freshness. The palate is soft and spicy with real complexity and elegance. This is utterly delicious. 94/100 (Ł19.30) 02/07

Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2005 Yarra Valley, Australia
Another pale coloured Pinot. There’s some sweet spicy warmth to the nose. The palate is soft, spicy and full, showing real elegance and nice density. Smooth and soft. 93/100 02/07

UK agent: Clark Foyster Wines (www.clarkfoysterwines.co.uk)

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

Back to top