New Arrivals from Mac Forbes
It is important to recognise the detail that is behind these wines. These are not punchy, full bodied Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Their flavours are more reserved, like a shy person with strong opinions: once you listen to them, you notice that they have a lot to say.
Mac always seeks to craft chiselled, contemplative wines and that is exactly what he has done in 2018. The Chardonnays are built upon strong acid profiles with fleshy fruit hanging off their linear frame. The Pinots, too, are medium bodied at most. They successfully combine very pretty primary fruit aromas and flavours, backed by savoury/ earth-derived tones below the surface. Both the reds and whites will undoubtedly benefit from some time in bottle, but do not let that stop you enjoying them from a young age. These are wines to savour and to marvel in the detail of flavour and the precision of structure that lies behind their pretty exterior. – Ches Cook, FWC
Mac Forbes Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2018
Mac was in Sydney in late August with a bag of new releases. An invitation to lunch at Mr. Wong was never going to be turned down so it was there where a group of us tasted through all of the new 2018 releases, plus a range of back-vintage wines to get a sense of how they age with time in bottle.
For the first time ever, Mac has made more single vineyard Chardonnays than Pinot Noirs. This is the tightest of the bunch, driven forward by citrus tones (lime leaf, lemon pith) in conjunction with great natural acidity and saline flavours. It’s this salty/rockpool character that I love most about this wine, and trying it next to the 2012 over lunch gives me great confidence in the way that this will develop over time. The 2012 was similarly salty and had fleshed-out quite a bit in the mid-palate, with a nice waxiness to the green apple fruit. – Ches Cook, FWC.
Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Chardonnay 2018
Generally Mac’s best performing vineyard site in my eyes (for both Pinot and Chardonnay) – although Mac will explain that it is simply a unique expression of site, as the other wines are too. Primary fruit here is again made up of orchard fruit, melon, white peach and crunchy nectarine. It is in the second half of the wine though where oat and nut notes begin to reveal themselves, adding a savoury edge to the wine that has a slow build of texture and palate weight. It’s the most expansive of the Chardonnays, and my preference for this reason. – Ches Cook, FWC.
Mac Forbes Yarra Junction Pinot Noir 2018
A slightly riper, fuller style of Pinot compared to the Coldstream. All relative of course – this is still very much in the delicate/fishbone style that Mac works within. It’s very precise with flavours tucked into every door you open. There is dried raspberry, boysenberry and more of that acid tang. There is some spice black cherry and a fine ripple of tannin through the back half of the wine. Darker, black soil/turned soil elements linger below the prettiness of the youthful fruit and it is these flavours that brings the savoury components of the wine. It’s got plenty there, and I see more being revealed over time. – Ches Cook, FWC.
